The Will of Fire: Kindling the Flame

by Star of the West

Narumi Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Saburo Haruno have just graduated from the academy. They have now taken the first step on the path that will lead them into the adventure of a lifetime. The journey of team seven and their comrades has begun.

13. Invasion

Teruyoshi lay on his back in his futon, staring silently up at the ceiling of their room at the inn. Kankuro was stretched out next to him, face oddly vulnerable looking without his usual pattern of kabuki makeup.

Turning his head slightly, Teruysohi glanced at the empty futon beyond the other boy. It had been laid out every night since they'd arrived for Gaara. But his youngest brother never slept.

Matter of fact, he spent most nights outside the room entirely. Of course, Baki-sensei never expressed concern over his youngest charges unhealthy sleeping habits, or lack there-of. A fact that never sat well with the eldest of his students.

The blonde sighed slightly, turning over to stare out the large window on his other side. He always opened it before they slept, so that his youngest brother could return easily.

Even if Gaara was supposed to be a monster, he was also Teruyoshi's baby brother, and the blonde worried about him.

Staring out the window, he breathed deeply as a soft breeze wound through the window and ruffled his hair gently. The night air of Konoha was warm and soft, comforting, filled with the scent of water, and greenery, and peace.

He relished the feel of the air caressing his cheek, so different from the harshly frigid air of the desert nights he was accustomed to.

Konoha was very different from his home. Water was everywhere, even in the air, and mighty trees, larger and stronger than any Teruyoshi had ever seen towered high into the air.

The ground here was different too, solid and firm beneath his feet, unlike the shifting sands he had walked all his life. He had noticed that the people here, from civilians to shinobi, tended to strike firm stances, planting their feet determinedly on the earth as they faced an issue head-on.

Perhaps what had struck him the most about this country. When he and his brothers had first been traveling here, he had thought that the shinobi would be soft. With all the lush prosperity he saw here, he could not imagine the surroundings breeding strength.

Besides, it was a widely known fact that the shinobi of Konoha were a bit odd. He'd heard the older shinobi of his village muttering about their strangeness, and the 'will of fire' that was so often mentioned, and yet apparently never explained.

However, when he'd come here, he hadn't seen weakness. At first they'd all seemed stupidly laid back, foolishly relaxed. But then Kankuro had tried to mess with that kid, and they'd abruptly found themselves surrounded by genin with raised hackles and hot eyes.

Yes, there was strength to be found in the forests of Hi no Kuni.

A star flashed bright blue high in the heavens, and Teruyoshi absently allowed his mind to wander to golden hair and impossibly blue eyes. The kunoichi. Narumi.

The first time they'd encountered her, she'd been one of those bristling genin demanding Kankuro release the academy student he was tormenting. His lips quirked up at the memory of her flashing eyes, and the fist she'd sunk into his brothers chest.

Unlike most Kunoichi she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, or initiate a fight. Teruyoshi had never seen a girl like that before. Most of the female shinobi he knew in sand were support oriented.

She also had a feisty temper, and a somewhat sassy personality. It was exciting to rile her up and tease her. And it wasn't like she was all bark either. He'd seen her back her words up with her actions, and he respected her for it.

Maybe that was the problem. He genuinely liked the girl. Her loyalty to her comrades was something he could relate to, and her determination and spirit were hard to ignore. Heck, he even found her refusal to show weakness to him as a foreign shinobi likable. It was how he would react himself.

Clenching his eyes shut against the pale moonlight, Teruyoshi scowled, fisting his hand in the sheet covering him. That girl was the reason he couldn't sleep at the moment. She was the obstacle he was desperately striving to overcome.

A few days after the preliminary matches, Baki-sensei had gone out one night, and not returned until nearly morning. The next evening, he'd gathered the three brothers together, and informed them of a plan being put into motion by their village.

They were breaking the pact with Konoha and invading during the exams. That was the reason the three of them were here. Not to become chuunin, or to familiarize themselves with their allies. To start a war.

Teruyoshi had felt as if someone had thrown a window open, and let in a blast of the freezing dry air of the desert night. Cold had washed over him, settling into his bones.

Of course, he was ready and willing to carry out his orders. He loved his village, and his people, and if he needed to invade another village to ensure their safety, then so be it. And while he wasn't particularly thrilled that the village had finally decided to wield Gaara as the 'weapon' they insisted he was, he was resigned to it. None of that was the problem.

The problem was that he hadn't been warned. He hadn't known to keep a distance from this place and the people in it. And now, he found himself dreading the attack he would be participating in tomorrow. Because he did not want to kill that golden haired girl, with her bright grin and her ready fists.

He hadn't spoken of this to Baki-sensei, or either of his brothers, for obvious reasons. But it kept him up late into the night, staring unseeingly at his surroundings as he willed himself to sleep.

He knew he would do what he had to do. If it came down to it, he could kill her. He probably would. But he was also grimly aware that it would be one of the kills he'd carry with him, even if he didn't really know her all that well.

He could still remember his first kill. He'd thought until that point that he'd become immune to the horror of watching another person lose their life. What with the assassins that their father was constantly sending after Gaara, he saw death often enough.

But at that moment, when he'd felt his sword sink into a mans torso, and felt the jar of impact resonating up his arm, he'd realized he was wrong.

He could still remember it. Still picture the widening of the mans eyes, the fear in his gaze as he looked at his killer. Blood bubbling oddly around the blade protruding from his victim, and the sound of the man choking out a rattling breath before he went boneless and limp, sliding heavily from the sword.

Teruyoshi had had nightmares for weeks afterwards, and when he'd finally admitted such to Baki-sensei, he'd been told that he'd likely carry the mans death with him for the rest of his life. War and death were their way of life, but shinobi were still human. Such regret was unavoidable.

Teruyoshi had killed a few others since then, and none had haunted him like the first. If he had to kill the girl tomorrow, she'd be the first he'd kill that he'd known personally. And she'd be the second ghost to haunt him.

Shuddering, he sucked in a deep breath, and stilled himself.

'You don't know that. You don't know you'll have to kill her. It could be someone else. Heck, she might even survive. It's not like we'll be wiping them out.'

Snorting, the blonde forced his body to relax. He just had to take this one piece at a time. Worrying about what might or might not happen would only wear him out further.

Despite his own thoughts and insistent commands, despite his determination, he dreamed of dying kunoichi with golden hair that night.

---

Teruyoshi kept his stance relaxed and loose as he stood beside Gaara. Now that he was aware of just what would be happening within a few hours, the stadium felt threatening and dangerous.

Tall cement walls encircled them, and the stands atop those walls were mostly filled with shinobi of Konoha, now the enemy. Not just chuunin and jounin, either. Anbu guards would be watching, and the third Hokage himself was present.

Teruyoshi blinked languidly, and resisted the urge to move protectively closer to his red-headed baby brother. Kankuro and Baki-sensei were standing on the low balcony set into the walls surrounding the stadium, just above head height.

Back-up was here if he needed it. He and Gaara would make it through this. Glancing at the shorter boy quietly, he winced inwardly as he was reminded just what his little brother was going to have to do when the attack started.

His tense thoughts were broken by a cheerful, musical voice, and he turned to look over his shoulder. His stomach dropped, and again he had to fight his desire to tense up or flinch away.

There she was, bright and excited in her orange clothing, golden braid swaying as she bounced beside a dark-haired kunoichi of Konoha. She was chattering away to her companion, blue eyes flashing over the stands around them, nervous excitement in every line of her body.

Teruyoshi looked away, his throat closing up as one of the bloodier images from his dreams last night flashed through his mind. With great discipline, he shoved those feelings away, sweeping his eyes across the other five people standing just behind the proctor.

The girls broody teammate, Uchiha, was not present. Absently he wondered where the guy was. Apparently he wasn't the only one, because from the sound of it, the girl was questioning her companion.

The new proctor frowned slightly at the two girls, rolling a senbon between his teeth as he chided them.

"Nara, Uzumaki! Stop chattering and stand up straight. Show your faces to the crowd."

Both girls straightened slightly, and Teruyoshi heard a slight intake of breath from one of them as they took in the wildly cheering crowd. Teruyoshi himself had tuned them out, telling himself that it didn't matter to him that they'd soon be screaming for very different reasons.

Beside him, Gaara suddenly became rigid, glaring ferociously up at the Kage box. Teruyoshi glanced at his little brother, and then followed his blazing glare. Ah. Their father was just walking up to take his seat beside the Hokage.

Under the pretense of shifting his weight, Teruyoshi allowed himself to move a bit closer to his little brother. The blonde respected his father as Kazekage, but when it came down to it, he would always take Gaara's side.

Many in their village didn't understand his behavior, and had warned him to stay away from his homicidal sibling. Teruyoshi snorted. If anything, he blamed his father and his damned assassins for what had become of Gaara. If his baby brother was upset to see the man, that was perfectly justified and natural in Teruyoshi's book.

He couldn't contemplate the man who'd sired him for long though. After a few moments of conversation, the Hokage stood and moved to the railing, his voice booming across arena, his age not detracting from the strength and steadiness of his tone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to Konohagakure's Chuunin Selection Exam today. We will now begin the main matches with the eight shinobi who have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches."

Glancing down the line at the Konoha genin lined up on the opposite side of him from Gaara, Teruyoshi took in a deep breath, and then shifted his eyes forward. He could do this. He could.

The proctor in front of them turned to face the genin, his eyes almost bored as he surveyed the seven shinobi present.

"There are some things I need to tell you before the matches."

Reaching into one of the pockets of his vest, he pulled out a folded sheet of paper, and opened it up, flashing it at them.

"Look at this."

Teruyoshi narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, for the moment devoting all his attention to making it through the exam. Wether it was relevant or not was not important, he just had to get through that. He would deal with everything else afterwards.

"There was a little change to the tournament match-ups. Check to see who your opponent will be."

Scanning the page, Teruyoshi relaxed inwardly. He was first up, fighting the Yamanka. That was good. He didn't want anymore build-up of tension than he already had to deal with. He'd prefer to go first.

Down the line, on his right, the Uzumaki girl raised her hand uncertainly.

"Ano.."

The proctor was folding up and putting away the paper, dull brown eyes resting lazily on the anxious kunoichi.

"What is it?"

She shifted again, looking slightly worried as she pushed on.

"Sasuke-teme isn't here yet. What do we do?"

Teruyoshi shifted slightly, curious as well. The Uchiha was supposed to be Gaara's opponent. The proctor shrugged, the movement careless.

"If he isn't here by the time his match starts, he'll lose by default."

Gaara shifted, and the blonde glanced down. A strange smile was pulling at his little brothers mouth, and Teruyoshi stared down at him from the corner of his eye. Could Gaara already have gotten rid of his oppponent? He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

The proctor noticed nothing, continuing to address the genin before him calmly.

"Listen up. The terrain and the audience are different, but the rules are the same as the prelims. There are no rules. The match ends when someone dies or gives up. However, as proctor, I may stop a match at any point. Got it?"

The genin nodded sharply, and answered as one.

"Right."

The proctor nodded back to them, and then rocked back on his heels, sliding his hands into his pockets as he eyed them.

"Alright then. The first match is Teruyoshi of Sunagakure versus Inori Yamanaka. The rest of you, move back to the waiting area."

Teruyoshi glanced at his brother. Gaara didn't look at him, merely turning to follow the other Konoha genin through an opening in the wall below the balcony where Baki-sensei stood, and up a staircase.

Then the Suna-nin's eyes went to his opponent. The platinum blonde was standing with most of his weight on one foot, his arms crossed cockily across his chest as he grinned at Teruyoshi. The older boys eyes narrowed.

This would be where the war started for him. Whether the other boy knew it or not, they were enemies, and as such Teruyoshi would give no quarter.

When the two young shinobi turned to face each other, a hush fell over the stadium, cheers dying away into a breathless silence. This was a shinobi village after all, and even the civilians knew when to keep their mouths shut.

The proctor shifted his wooden senbon between his teeth, cutting his eyes back and forth between Teruyoshi and the Yamanaka boy. Then he stepped slightly back, and called out in an alert voice.

"Begin!"

Teruyoshi's eyes narrowed, and he shot to the side, circling in towards the other boy, careful not to give him a direct line of attack. The last thing he intended to do was allow the Konoha-nin to use his mind jutsu on him.

Startled at the burst of speed, the Yamanaka whirled around, trying to keep his eyes on his grim faced opponent. Teruyoshi snorted as he closed the last bit of distance between them. The mind-walker hadn't a chance.

Drawing back his arm, Teruyoshi slammed his fist forward, smashing it hard into the side of the Yamanaka's face, and throwing the other boy to the side. As the stunned genin stumbled away, desperately trying to maintain his balance, Teruyoshi smirked, blowing softly on his knuckles.

The trick to this fight would be to not reveal to much of his abilities. After all, it would be bad if Konoha knew how to counter him in the upcoming battle. But that was easily taken care of. He'd just have to goad the Konoha-nin into a close combat, taijutsu battle.

Eyeing the stunned boy, and the blood dribbling down his chin from a split lip, Teruyoshi allowed his smirk to widen.

"What's the matter, pretty boy? Wanna give up?"

The Yamanka's brows snapped together, and he glared ferociously at Teruyoshi, wiping the blood from his chin with a thumb, and flinging it to the side as he straightened.

"Not at all. I was just thinking how glad I was that I got the poacher as my opponent."

The Yamanka whipped his hands up, and began running through seals as quickly as he could manage. Teruyoshi's eyes narrowed. From what he'd seen, the younger genin focused mostly on genjutsu. He couldn't be allowed to cast one now.

Darting forward, Teruyoshi swung at the other boy in a vicious left hook. WIth a startled yelp, the lighter blonde swayed back, breaking off halfway through his seals to bring his hands up in block.

Pulling back, Teruyoshi twisted, his body still engaged in a weaving motion to render the mind jutsu useless. As he turned, he slammed a back-fist hard into Inori's momentarily unguarded ribs.

When the strike connected, the Konoha-nin recoiled, springing away from Teruyoshi, and putting a good ten meters of distance between them. Breathing hard, he winced, eyes fixed on Teruyoshi as he settled into a basic taijutsu stance.

Teruyoshi snorted, cocking his head back arrogantly as he smirked at his opponent.

"What, are you only good for running away?"

Inori scowled at him, growling irately as he tensed.

"You're one to talk. A guy like you who goes around bothering girls from another village."

WIth that retort, the younger blonde shot towards him, baby blue eyes glowing with anger. Teruyoshi felt a tight satisfaction bloom in his chest as he caught the blow with his left arm, whipping in for another punch as he did.

Good. This was good. If he could just keep the other boy angry, keep him engaged in the physical attacks of taijutsu, he'd win this battle, and win it easily.

As the two of them continued to exchange blows, whirling around each other as they did, Teruyoshi ducked a punch from from the other boy. The Yamanaka lost his balance, and his momentum pulled him through, sending his fist straight into the ground.

Teruyoshi blinked in surprise at the resounding crack that rang through the air, and the cloud of dust that momentarily obscured his enemy's arm. When it settled, he saw Inori pull his hand slowly from where it had buried itself in the hard-packed earth of the stadium floor.

His eyebrows rose. The Konoha-nin wasn't half bad at close combat. But he wasn't good enough. Teruyoshi had the advantage. Not only was his experience greater, but he specialized in physical combat aided by fuuton techniques. The Yamanaka specialized in the area of the mind.

Quickly, while the other boys back was turned, he flashed through several hand seals, creating a suna bunshin, and then vanished in a quick swirl of sand. Reappearing behind a tree, he took a deep breath, and then flashed through another series of seals, tuning out the sounds of his enemy engaging the clone.

Drawing in a deep breath, he focused on the feeling of the Yamanaka's chakra signature. Chakra surged through him, and he slid easily down into the earth, as if it were water. Once he was below the surface, he twisted, eyes still closed, and burrowed in the direction of the Konoha-nin.

There was more resistance in the rich, solid soil of Hi no Kuni than he was used to. He usually used this technique out in the shifting sands of the desert. Still, it wasn't as bad as the rock hard, baked earth to be found in the village, and he slid through it smoothly and quickly.

Once he was right below the Yamanaka, he waited for the instant when the other boy froze in shock as his suna bunshin collapsed in a spray of sand. Then he thrust his hand up through the surface, catching the younger genins ankle in an iron grip.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."

The jutsu took over, and Teruyoshi shot up from the earth, even as Inori was dragged down. As they passed each other, Teruyoshi narrowed his eyes, and slammed his knee hard into the Konoha-nin's chin.

The Yamanaka's head whipped backwards with a resounding crack of bone on bone, blood flying from his mouth where he'd likely bitten either his cheek or his tongue. Platinum blonde hair floated back in a wild spray even as baby blue eyes widened, and then slid closed.

In the next instant, Teruyoshi was standing impassively over Inori Yamanaka's unconscious and mostly buried figure. The proctor stepped in, voice sharp as his brown eyes locked on the victorious blonde.

"That's enough. Winner, Teruyoshi of Sunagakure."

Teruyoshi slowly turned his head to meet the mans gaze as the cheering began around the stadium. After a long moment, he inclined his head stiffly, and then wheeled to stalk towards the staircase leading to the examinees balcony.

Behind him, two iryo-nin had rushed out onto the field, and were examining his victims skull, neck, and spine as best they could before attempting to remove him. The suna-nin snorted as he mounted the stairs to join his brother.

He knew he hadn't killed or even seriously injured the Yamanaka. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to convince himself that the only reason he hadn't was because he didn't want to arouse the suspicion of the scores of watching Konoha-nin.

Before he could really dwell on it too much, he emerged onto the balcony. The Konoha genin glanced at him before looking back to the stadium. They weren't friendly, but they weren't hostile either.

The girl, Narumi, was the only one who was different. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, a slight frown hovering on her face, before she turned back. Gaara was standing beside her.

Clearing his throat slightly, Teruyoshi walked up to stand on his brothers other side, deliberately forcing his eyes not to wander to the golden haired girl beside his baby brother. When he spoke, his voice was light and relaxed, as usual.

"So, any sign of the Uchiha?"

Gaara's pale turquoise slid to him, and he shook his head once. Teruyoshi shrugged, crossing his arms atop the railing, and leaning forward nonchalantly. Soon. Soon now. He just had to control his reactions for a bit longer, and then he could lose himself in battle.

Gaara shifted a bit, and Teruyoshi glanced back at him. The redhead's eyes were wide, and flickered from side to side, his breath coming quickly. Teruyoshi tightened his jaw, and prepared to act. His brother was starting to leak sakki, probably agitated by his opponents absence.

Gaara lifted his hand slowly, eyes fixed on a random chuunin in the stands across from them. Teruyoshi swore inwardly. Gaara always did get antsy when he had been too long without a kill.

Before Teruyoshi could move to stop him, a slender tanned hand caught his wrist tightly. The sakki vanished, and both brothers turned their eyes towards the orange clad Kunoichi who was eyeing Gaara. When she spoke her voice was calm.

"He'll be here. Don't you worry."

Teruyoshi's brows shot up.

Down below, the proctor cleared his throat and called out the next two names.

"Well then. If Tenma and Narumi Uzumaki will step forward, we will begin the second match."

The two Konoha-nin both tensed slightly.

The girl, Narumi, released Gaara, her attention redirected. With an excited whoop she launched herself enthusiastically over the railing, landing lightly in the arena before dashing over to take her place in front of the proctor.

Tenma, a brown haired boy in a long tunic, followed her at a more sedate pace. While he was not as openly excited as his female counterpart, the set of his shoulders and the gleam in his eyes spoke of determination and readiness.

With an effort, Teruyoshi turned his eyes to the boy as he took his place across from the girl. This was the same guy who had so decisively beaten Kankuro in the preliminary matches. He was the reason that his brown haired brother was sitting with their sensei in the stands, rather than standing beside him.

Interesting. All the better for the stronger shinobi to wear themselves out now, and then be exhausted during the attack. Particularly weapons masters suited to dealing with larger groups of opponents at once.

Beside him, Gaara kept pale eyes locked on the kunoichi, head tilted slightly to one side, gaze impassive. Teruyoshi felt a shiver run down his spine, and turned his eyes back to the match. He'd never seen such a look on Gaara's face before.

Cheers rose excitedly as the proctor proclaimed the start of the match. Predictably, it was Narumi who attacked first, dashing in recklessly toward her opponent. Tenma swayed easily backward, and she followed him with a grin.

Tenma narrowed his eyes, dodging her blows, and delivering a few of his own. As Teruyoshi watched the swift exchange of blows, he narrowed his eyes, seeing what was going on.

Every time Tenma went for his scrolls or holster, every time he tried to arm himself, Narumi would attack with increased vigor, forcing him to turn his attention back to the matter of defending himself.

Tenma seemed to have realized her strategy as well, because he suddenly vaulted away from her, launching into a series of back handsprings that took him away from the reach of the kunoichi's fists and feet.

Landing at a safe distance, he reached for his scrolls again. With a shout, Narumi launched a series of shuriken at him. An admirable effort, but a vain one. Tenma ducked the razor edged weapons, opening his scroll with a hard flick of his wrist.

Brushing his fingers over a thick black symbol, the brown haired boy smirked as a handheld sickle popped into his hand. Narumi scowled at him, and charged, lifting her hands into a strange cross-shaped hand-seal.

With a soft explosion, twelve golden haired figures were charging across the stadium to engage the weapons master. Tenma blinked, and Teruyoshi watched intently as he did his best to fend off the figures surrounding him, calling up new weapons now and again as the old ones were snatched away from his fingers.

Every time the younger boy would disperse one clone, another would take it's place. Narumi seemed to be trying to wear him down with numbers now that her plan to keep him from drawing on his weapons had failed.

As the battle continued, Teruyoshi nodded decisively to himself. Yes, definitely better that the weapons master be worn out when everything broke loose. As a matter of fact, probably better if both the genin down there were as depleted as possible.

While a shinobi who could take out multiple opponents with relative ease was a very real threat, so was a kunoichi who was quite literally, an army unto herself. And apparently had no concept of the word fear.

Frowning, the suna-nin leaned forward, trying to get a better look at what was going on. Every once in a while, one of the blonde clones would rush in and slide by Tenma in a decidedly odd movement, without even attempting an attack.

He would have said that it was a distraction, as every time it happened, Tenma would whirl to face the already retreating clone, and immediately be attacked by one of the figures behind him. But something about it bothered him.

One of the other Konoha-nin on the balcony, a bushy-haired kunoichi in a hooded coat, murmured quietly to her companion, dark glasses fixed on the scene below them.

"Very logical. Driving Tenma-kun into the trees so that his range will be decreased is a most cunning strategic maneuver. I don't believe he's even noticed."

The other kunoichi murmured a lazy agreement, though her eyes were sharp and intent as she watched the struggling press of figures embroiled in battle. Teruyoshi blinked, glancing from the two dark haired girls to the fight taking place below them.

Sure enough, the cluster of orange-clad figures encircling the furiously fighting weapons master was slowly drawing him towards the groups of trees growing near the stadium walls.

She nearly had him there when the boy looked up, caught sight of the approaching foliage, and realized what was going on. From the expression on his face and the movement of his mouth, Teruyoshi would have been willing to bet that he'd cursed quite emphatically.

Summoning up a sickle and chain combination weapon, he whirled the chain in his hand, and swept it through the ranks of clones surrounding him. The remaining clones fell back, all grimly lifting their hands to summon more, probably to disguise the movement of the original.

As more clones exploded into being, Tenma crouched, placing two scrolls tied closed with red, tasseled cords on the ground in front of him, bracing them upright with his palms resting lightly on the tops.

With a quick smirk, he called out a technique name as smoke exploded around him.

"Soshoryu!"

Teruyoshi watched, impressed and surprised, as two dragons of smoke rose from the cloud obscuring the combatants, and flew up into the air, twisting around each other. As Narumi and her clones burst out of the smoke, surrounding it warily, the dragons vanished, leaving behind the two scrolls, unwound and trailing around each other up through the air.

Teruyoshi eyed them, speculating on how much chakra it cost the weapons master to hold the scrolls up in the air. The genin in question shot into the air, flying up between the two scrolls.

With his body spinning wildly, his hands brushed over the symbols as he passed, snatching weapons as they appeared. Teruyoshi watched, wide-eyed, as the boys body blurred with the speed of his spin, and flashes of steel rained down on the crowd of Kunoichi below him.

Drawing in a hissing breath, Teruyoshi spared a moment to be thankful that the weapons master had been pushed into revealing this technique. It would have been devastating on the ranks of the suna-nin if he'd sprung it on them as a surprise.

As it was, Teruyoshi was confident that he could nullify the threat with his wind techniques. He only needed to keep an eye out for the boy.

While he was distracting himself with such thoughts, the majority of the kunoichi's clones were dispersed. Those few that were left though, were enduring the deadly hail of weapons well.

Teruyoshi blinked in surprise as he watched. The multiple figures of the Konoha kunoichi were moving in tight, circular motions, dipping and swaying, weaving between the falling blades around them. Occasionally one would be nicked or struck, and disperse, but overall they seemed to holding up well.

When the weapons master landed, and the onslaught of blades came to an end, four figures were still standing. Quickly, those four multiplied again, until he was surrounded by around twenty figures.

Narrowing his eyes, the chinese boy growled and leapt back into the air.

"I'm not done yet!"

The way he moved his hands as he sailed through the air reminded Teruyoshi vividly of Kankuro practicing his more advanced puppetry techniques. His eyebrows shot up as the weapons on the ground rose into the air, leased to their masters hands by long strands of ninja wire.

With a sweep of his arms, the weapons master sent the deadly objects hurtling towards the blonde figures. Identical grins spread across the faces of the kunoichi, and they all spun back into those strange, effortlessly circular motions, dodging among the weapons.

As the weapons hurtled by, each clone spun and grabbed double handfuls of the wires, planting their feet and moving back. The weapons master yelped as he was yanked toward the ground, crashing into it, the tension of the wires held his arms outstretched from his sides.

Frowning, the boy moved as if to disengage the wires, but the Narumi clones darted in, flinging loops of the excess lengths of wire around his torso, and backing up quickly, pinning his arms to his sides and holding him in place.

Teruyoshi smirked at the fierce quality of the grins on the kunoichi's face. She had the guy well and truly pinned. If she was lucky, this could mean victory. A very well played strategy on her part.

Gritting his teeth, the brown haired Konoha-nin wiggled his fingers towards his holster, and groped as best he could for a scroll. Then his eyes widened, and his head whipped around to stare down at the holster as if he'd never seen it before.

From among the crowd, one particular kunoichi stepped forward, drawing her opponents eyes, and Teruyoshi instinctively knew her to be the original. A hush fell over the stadium as she grinned broadly, and reached into the folds of her jacket.

With a flourish, she withdrew four very familiar scrolls, two held in each hand. Teruyoshi resisted the urge to laugh as she waved them cheerfully at the boy. The weapons master stiffened, and then relaxed with a sigh, a rueful smile on his face.

"Examiner! I'm done. Haven't got the chakra or the armament to continue."

The proctor blinked, and then a smile tugged at his lips, the senbon shifting to the corner of his mouth.

"Winner, Uzumaki Narumi."

The stadium erupted into cheers as the clones dispersed. The girl grinned sheepishly walking over to help disentangle the boy from his own wire, and handing him back his weapons scrolls.

The two Konoha genin stood talking quietly to one another in the arena as the crowd cheered wildly above them. Then they nodded to the examiner and started back across the arena, a couple of chuunin already gathering up and removing weapons behind them.

Teruyoshi looked around contemplatively, wondering where the Uchiha was. It was vital to the plan that he and Gaara fight as planned. What were they supposed to do if the broody genin didn't show?

Teruyoshi was just opening his mouth to say something to Gaara when the Uchiha appeared in a swirl of leaves, his jounin-sensei beside him. Teruyoshi tensed slightly, eyes intent on the dark figure of the younger genin.

The previous two combatants altered course, Narumi bouncing up excitedly to chatter at her teammate as their jounin-sensei spoke quietly to the proctor. The weapons master followed her over, nodding slightly to the Uchiha.

After a moment or two, the brown haired boy took Narumi's arm and tugged her towards the stairwell. Stumbling slightly, she waved energetically to her teammate, and then raced across the stadium to the steps, closely followed by her former opponent.

Looking up to the balcony, the proctor called out calmly.

"Gaara. Get down here."

The Uchiha looked up towards them as well, a gravely serious gaze locking onto the red head standing beside him. Frowning slightly, Teruyoshi glanced over and opened his mouth to say something to his younger brother.

Then he blinked, and closed his mouth tightly. A maniac grin stretched Gaara's mouth, baring enlarged canines that were nearly fangs. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he practically radiated mad desire for battle as he met and held the Uchiha's onyx gaze.

Teruyoshi's jaw tightened, and an uneasy shiver ran down his spine.

'This is bad. I haven't seen him like this in a while.'

For a moment he wondered if the younger boy even remembered the attack plan, or if he was simply insane with bloodlust. To draw his attention now would probably end with being crushed inside a prison of sand.

After a moment, the smaller shinobi turned, and headed towards the stairwell. Teruyoshi crossed his arms over his chest, half turning to look back at the slight, retreating figure of the redhead. Tightening his grip on his arms, he spoke up in deliberately non-threatening voice.

"Gaara. Be careful."

The younger genin didn't look back. He stopped moving for a moment, and Teruyoshi wondered distantly if he'd finally pushed the boundaries of what his little brother would tolerate too far, if perhaps he should have just shut up and let him walk off.

But Gaara didn't turn on him, or even threaten to kill him. He merely walked on in silence. Most people would probably feel slighted. Teruyoshi merely sighed in relief that his refusal to cower from his baby brother hadn't driven the kid to kill him yet.

Shaking his head, he turned to face the stadium, practically vibrating with tension. Lifting his shoulders slightly, he forced his body to relax, and focused his attention on the shift in the reassuring weight of his sword across his back. Not long now.

---

Gaara stalked down the stairs between the two frozen Konoha genin who had just watched him dispose of the pitiful shinobi who had presented themselves to him for death in the hallway.

Personally, he didn't care about gambling or whatever they'd been rambling about. He didn't even care who they were. All that mattered was that they had been living, and that he had been able to kill them.

It had taken the edge from his hunger, at least for now. He could still hear mothers voice in the back of his head, howling and hissing, chanting for blood to slake their thirst.

As he walked between the two frozen figures on the stares, he glanced at the female. She was watching him as well. She had the feel of a predator. He'd caught bits and pieces of her true nature lurking beneath the surface during the exams, but it wasn't until she'd stopped him in the stands before her fight that he'd known.

She was like him. He could feel the restrained power boiling beneath her skin, see it in the curl of her lip and the flash of her fangs during her fight. It made his blood stir with the need to validate his own existence.

He shivered as he stepped out into the sunlight, a hungry grin pulling at his face as he stared at the dark figure in the center of the stadium. He liked Konoha. Such nice prey. Predators were so much more vindicating to kill, and there were so many of them here.

He couldn't wait to tearripcrushKILL the Uchiha. To see his blood stain the ground, and know that he had proven his existence once again. That he still had purpose.

Feeling the weight of his fathers stare boring into the side of his head, he twitched, eyes widening slightly, expression never faltering as he moved out to stand opposite the Uchiha.

Maybe, after he was done here, he'd kill the girl next. They'd promised him kills, a battle where he could wallow in blood if he so chose. Why not seek out the most worthy kills first?

Hunching his shoulders slightly, Gaara allowed mothers voice to become white noise in the back of his mind, his crazed grin fading to a dark smirk as he locked eyes with the icy Uchiha.

All around him, he could feel the heavy, clinging fear in the air. It oozed from the stands, mixing with anticipation and flowing over him. He chuckled darkly, reveling in the feel of terror.

Distantly, he heard the dull, fading chuunin beside them call a start to the match before springing away. He couldn't spare any attention for that one. Such a weak kill would bring him no pleasure. The mans blood would run cool and weak, not rich and powerful like that of another predator.

No, all Gaara's attention was locked on his next kill. The dark eyed fledgling before him, crouching into a combat stance as he prepared for battle. Gaara settled into the flow of battle, eager to see the bloodlifebreath flow out of this dark forest-dwellers body.

Sand rushed up and out of the gourd on his back, flowing into the air above him to hover and swirl with a familiar hiss of grains on grains. Wariness flashed through his kills eyes, and the other male sprang back.

'That won't save you, oh no! Your life is already mine, fledgling!'

Mothers voice suddenly surged in his head, deafeningly loud as she roared and snarled, berating him mercilessly. Agony raced through his brain and spread throughout his head as she punished him for the perceived offense.

"Idiot child! HAVE I NOT TOLD YOU WE MUST HAVE BLOOD? Such FILTH you have given me! Weaklings! STRONG BLOOD! I need powerful kills! WHY DO YOU DEFY ME!"

Clutching at his head with one hand, Gaara heaved for breath, forcing his way through the blinding pain that accompanied mothers displeasure. He wasn't defying her! He would kill the fledgling! He would tear him to pieces!

When he spoke his voice was strained, and breathless laughter threaded his voice. He knew it unnerved people when he spoke to mother. Particularly his brothers.

"Don't get so mad at me...mother."

He narrowed his eyes, watching the alarmed and confused expression of disbelief that spread across the fledglings face as he soothed mother. He had to appease her, to show her that he was doing as she wished, that he hadn't meant to give her filth.

"Back there...I made you absorb foul blood...sorry...but...but this time!"

The hissing canopy of sand flowing above him grew larger and larger as he poised himself to squeeze the life, the blood, the breath, the very light from the fledgling standing before him. He licked at his lips hungrily and continued.

"This time...it'll taste better!"

Oh yes, it would taste better from now on! Hadn't he been promised? The opportunity to slake his thirst with the entire village of Konohagakure! They bred strength here, and he would drink long and deep from that strength!

He'd hunt down only the finest kills, spilling hot, powerful blood in rivers to satisfy mothers desire! And it would all begin with the fledgling!

Mother sensed his thoughts, his intentions, and subsided, momentarily appeased by the promise of things to come. She receded ed with a final stab of agony that caused him to loose control of his sand for a moment, sending it crashing to the ground as he recovered from her immediate presence.

Shifting his attention back to the fledgling, he sucked in a shuddering breath, and tensed, ready for the slaughter.

"Come!"

The fledgling stared at him with a wary gaze as his sand lifted into the air around him again, hissing and rushing as it swirled around him. After a moment, dark eyes narrowed, and he murmured in a low voice.

"Let's go!"

With a swift motion, he sent two shuriken hurtling across the space between them. Gaara deliberately stilled his face, and crossed his arms over his chest. His sand rose up between them, forming into a rough suna bunshin as it caught the projectile weapons.

The fledgling charged him, and Gaara watched eagerly as his sand blasted towards him, lashing out offensively with only a slight nudge from his chakra. Black eyes widened, and the Uchiha leapt high into the air above him, avoiding the sand.

The bunshin still standing in front of Gaara threw one of the two shuriken it had caught towards the descending genin, and the Uchiha matched it with another, both weapons colliding and spinning off to the side midway between the two of them.

Twisting around in the air as he neared the ground, the Uchiha slammed his leg through the blocking arms of the bunshin, sending sand spraying as his kick powered through the substance of the clone.

Landing on his hands, he spun around, leaping up to his feet and slamming a rough backhand into the bunshin, his arm a bar of muscle and bone that would have crushed the opponents trachea if it had been another flesh and blood shinobi he struck.

Instead, the sand of the bunshin bled over the dark genins arm and wrist, holding it in place. Gritting his teeth and glaring, the Uchiha pivoted, and slammed a powerful, chakra-enhanced palm heel strike through the bunshins head, blowing it apart and dispersing the sand.

Gaara saw the opponent clearly, saw the Uchiha surge across the small space separating them with his fist drawn back. And remained still, calm in the knowledge that his sand would protect him until the time came when he caught his prey.

Sure enough, sand surged up in a shield between them. And then the Uchiha smirked at him, and vanished. Gaara started, eyes widening as he stared blankly at the spot where his target had been.

With incredible speed, Gaara felt the presence of the other genin reappear behind him and started to turn, eyes wide. Konoha-nin seemed to make a habit of surprising him. First the ridiculous green one, and the girl. Now the Uchiha.

'He's fast! He moves the same way as...as the green one!'

Before he or his sand could guard against the strike, the Uchiha's fist slammed into his cheek. Gaara's head snapped back, and he sailed through the air, distantly aware that his sand armor was cracking where he'd been struck.

His sand raced after him as he flew through the air, and coiled around his spinning body, softening the impact as he slammed into the ground. When he came to a stop, he sat up and glared at the Uchiha, enraged by the cocky smirk he found on the fledglings face.

"That must be the armor of sand."

Gaara's glare intensified as the Uchiha lifted his hand palm up, and twitched his fingers arrogantly in his direction, head tilting slight to the side as he spoke in an amused, confident tone.

"Come."

Narrowing his eyes, Gaara silently refused the command, irritation spiking. Who was this upstart, to think he had the right to call Gaara to fight, as if he were a foolish child, or a dog?

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and his mouth drew into a tight line.

"If you're not coming to me, then I'll come to you!"

With a flash of black cloth, the other genin surged across the ground between them. Eyes widening slightly, Gaara shifted back, calling on his sand. He was wary now. Wary of the other boys speed and strength.

When the Uchiha reached him, sand surged up between them. But no impact came. The dark genin slid around Gaara, and surged to attack from behind. Gaara looked over his shoulder with wide eyes as his sand surged between them and lashed out.

The Uchiha wove back and forth, dodging the lashing columns of sand, and twisting in beneath the flowing trails that curled protectively around his body. Gaara's eyes widened as a pale foot slammed into his chest, hard enough to crack his armor again, and throwing him backwards.

Once again his sand caught him, and he heard a mocking voice ring out from the Konoha-nin as a dust cloud rose around his body.

"What's wrong? Is this all you've got?"

Standing, Gaara kept his eyes closed as the dust settled, itching with battle thirst as the voice rang out again, confident and proud.

"I'll tear down that armor of yours!"

Uchiha surged forward, and Gaara lifted his sand defensively. But no attack came immediately. Instead, the other boy sped around him, his body blurring as he raced in circles around the defensive ring of sand surrounding the redhead.

Gaara's eyes flicked from side to side as he tried in confusion to track the other genin's movements. But he couldn't follow them. Instead he felt only more and more bewildered as the black and tan blur whipping around and around him.

Then the Uchiha was spring acrobatically under his sand and towards him. Setting his teeth and frowning slightly, Gaara leaned back. But he didn't move far enough, and the Konoha-nin's foot caught his chin, snapping his head up and back.

Hands seized his long white sash, and the strap of his gourd where they crossed across his chest, yanking him sharply forward. As his body stumbled heavily forward, a knee slammed into his gut, forcing the breath from his body.

Before Gaara could retaliate, his opponent sprang back and away, putting distance between them again as the two of them heaved for breath and stared at each other. The red-headed Jinchuuriki felt the caustic stare of his sire on the back of his neck, and gritted his teeth angrily.

He would not allow this to continue! Rising to his feet and fixing the darker genin with an intense glare, he brought his hands together in a seal. As he did, the sand around him rose and encased him in a thick sphere like the shell of an egg.

He felt the Uchiha race towards him. Felt the punch that slammed into the shell, it's force absorbed by the thick barrier of sand that protected him. Something in the air changed, and he shivered. The Uchiha was bleeding now. Mother could feel it.

Deep within the unnatural pitch darkness created by the thick sand shell he'd enclosed himself in, a maniac grin slowly twisted his lips upwards. Slowly, a picture materialized before him as he employed his sand eye.

The Uchiha stood before his absolute defense...and smiled? Why would he smile? Was he a fool?

Muttering to himself under his breath, Gaara ignored the Uchiha's attempts to break through his sand, and the bloody red eyes that peered out from behind his ebony bangs.

"Yeah...I'm going to tear him apart. Then drag it out."

Mother murmured in the back of his head, and almost dazedly, he answered her.

"What you ask? The insides of course. A lot comes out, right?"

Giggling at the rush of dark pleasure and anticipation mother sent rushing through his veins, he continued, voice giddy.

"I'll give them all to you."

Deep within his mind, a rumbling, purring growl sounded, and a deep voice boomed.

"That's a good child. Good boy."

Giggling again, Gaara responded almost absentmindedly.

"I'm always a good boy. Yes. Yes, I'll do that! Mother, I'll watch."

Suddenly, Gaara became aware of the Uchiha shooting towards him, his arm lit up with forking tongues of blue-white lightening. His sand surged to stop him, but the other genin ignored it, swerving around it and sinking his arm deep into the incredibly hard shell of the sand.

Pain exploded from Gaara's chest, and he looked down in shock. A tiny amount of light seeped through along with the Uchiha's arm. Enough to see. The other genin's palm was flat against his shoulder, and it was the source of the glacial, burning sensation racing through his veins.

"M-mother...what...?"

He stared down, eyes wide as blood dripped from his shoulder onto his outstretched hand. Horror and shock flooded through him, and he threw back his head, screaming.

"Blood! My blood!"

His body transformed, taking on mothers shape. Reaching up, he wrapped one blue-veined, clawed hand around the limb that had injured him. He was barely aware of Uchiha's struggling until lightning once again encased his arm.

Pain shot through Gaara's body, and his grip weakened somewhat. Slowly, Uchiha struggled backward, dragging himself free of Gaara's grasp and shooting out of his reach, even as his own hand shot forward, arm lengthening as he grasped after his kill.

Slowly, he drew his arm back within his shield, feeling it deform and shift to fit back through the hole that was no bigger than the circumference of Uchiha's own arm. Shifting around, he brought his eye to the hole and peered out at Uchiha's sweating, horror struck form.

Infuriated, he roared. Roared with all his strength, sending a blast wave of air out from his shield, causing the black hair of his opponent, his prey, to flutter. Red sharingan eyes stared back at him, locked onto what was visible through the hole with frozen shock.

Slowly, cracks spread through his sand shield, spiderwebbing across its surface. Resuming his human form with effort, Gaara allowed the sand to collapse, spilling over him as he clutched at his wounded shoulder, chest heaving for breath.

Rage gushed through him, and his eyes focused on the Uchiha, everything else tunneling down until all he could see was the dark genin, and all he could feel was his own desire to slashdestroyrend him.

An explosion suddenly erupted near the Kage box, and Gaara was vaguely aware of the sounds of battle commencing, and the sudden absence of cheering, or any other sound associated with large crowds of people.

A broad-chested figure with an anxious scent suddenly landed between him and the Uchiha, arms outstretched placatingly towards him.

"Stop it, Gaara! Now is not the time!"

Ignoring his brothers words, he started forward, intent on the presence of the Uchiha. Kankuro landed beside and slightly behind Teruyoshi, fear heavy in his scent even as he blocked Gaara's way.

"There's no point in fighting one genin! We have to carry out the mission!"

Narrowing his eyes, Gaara hissed in displeasure, trying to weave around his errant siblings. It would probably have been quicker to kill them, but for some reason the thought didn't cross his mind.

Before he could properly evade the older boys, Baki landed between them and the Uchiha, glaring over his shoulder sharply. Even the mans aura was tightly controlled.

"What are you three doing? The mission has already commenced!"

Mother's presence suddenly surged in his head, her voice so loud that he couldn't make out the words. Pain and pressure erupted in his skull, and he cried out, twisting his fingers anxiously through the short red strands of his hair.

Desperately he resisted the urge to write on the ground as the echoing, snarling roar continued on and on. Teruyoshi's presence edged closer to him, concern lacing through his aura. But he didn't touch him.

Somewhere in front of him, he heard the Uchiha's voice, but the pain in his head was still growing, and he couldn't make out the words. Beneath him, his trembling legs gave out, and he went to his knees.

Teruyoshi knelt beside him, a warm hand coming to rest tentatively atop his own twisting fingers. It hurt! It hurt so badly! Mother was upset, angry. What had he done? He'd do anything to make it stop, truly. He'd be a good boy!

"The wound must have been more serious than I thought. You've used up most of your chakra, haven't you little brother?"

Without waiting for a reply, the older genin raised his voice and addressed Baki.

"He can't use it. Not now."

Baki's voice was harsh and scornful, and Gaara could feel his sharp eyes drilling into him.

"Fool! That's what happens when you try to take on the complete possessed form ahead of time! You should have waited for the signal!"

Kankuro's alarmed, aggressive voice rang out as he whirled around to face their sensei.

"What now? You want us to do this without Gaara?"

Teruyoshi tensed, and his hand fell away as he stood up to face the other two. Bitterly, Gaara snarled at the reminder that kind facades always fell away the moment he ceased to be of use and became a danger. Always.

Baki hesitated, and then he continued in a calm, smooth voice.

"Gaara is Sunagakure's trump card. We will have him fight, no matter what."

Somewhere across the arena, the young suna-nin heard the proctor sternly order the Uchiha to stands, to fight the other Suna-nin flashing over the unnaturally still crowd as a shinobi of Konohagakure. The Uchiha grunted acknowledgment, and sprang away.

As the scent of his blood became more distant, Gaara shuddered. His kill was escaping. Leaving. He'd lost his chance to slake mothers thirst. She'd punish him for that. The shivering became more pronounced.

Baki addressed his brothers strictly, apparently ignoring the proctor and retreating genin in the stadium with them.

"You three retreat for now. Treat Gaara's wound, and once his chakra recovers, resume the mission. These are your orders."

The other two acknowledged the orders, and Teruyoshi's hand wrapped around his wrist, dragging his arm over his shoulders. Still shuddering, even though the pain was slowly beginning to quiet, Gaara allowed his larger brother to support his weight as he was pulled to his feet.

'Can't leave the weapon to rust, oh no! Have to be polished up now, so I can be used against the enemy, like a good weapon, don't I?'

Kankuro's voice came from somewhere to his right, but Gaara had already closed his eyes, and didn't bother to open them to spot the black clad genin.

"What about you, sensei?"

Baki's jumpsuit rustled against the stiff fabric of his flak jacket as he turned away from the three of them.

"I'll be taking care of things here."

The proctors calm, laid back voice was no different now than when he'd been calling genin up for matches, and Gaara spared a moment to wonder through the haze of pain if the man was predator or prey.

"You think it'll be that easy?"

Gaara didn't hear Baki's reply, because at that instant, Teruyoshi sprang away, carrying him through the air and over the walls of the stadium. Wind rushed in his ears as they rushed across the hidden village towards the tree line. Soon now. Soon he would kill.

---

Narumi looked around, eyes narrowed. The stands were crawling with oto-nin, and there were only a very few Konoha-nin awake to fight them. Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei were both already engaging the enemy.

From where she stood in the back of the stands, she could see the slumped over forms of Chouji, Hirohito, and Kira. She could just make out Sasuke and Saburo-kun fighting back to back in the box across the stadium from where she stood.

Tenma had woken her after the swirling feathers of the Genjutsu had sent her to sleep, before whipping out a scroll, and dashing to knock away an Oto-nin heading for his sensei's back.

Drawing a kunai of her own, she dashed to Kakashi-sensei's side. The silver-haired jounin was fighting well, though his tone and expression remained as lazily relaxed as ever.

"Ah, Narumi-chan! Good to see you awake."

She snorted as he ruffled her hair, simultaneously kicking away an approaching Oto-nin hard enough to snap the mans neck.

"Tenma woke me up. What are we gonna do sensei?"

Kakashi looked around, momentarily unmoving as no Oto-nin were currently moving to engage the Konoha jounin.

"Hmmm..."

When he didn't answer her query, Narumi frowned up at her sensei, not sure she liked the way his lone visible eye flickered across the Oto-nin, down into the stadium where a Suna-nin was currently engaging the exam proctor, and then back up to the Kage box.

"Sensei? What is it?"

Kakashi shrugged, moving to engage another Oto-nin as he grunted out an answer.

"It's probably nothing. But that Gaara kid, something about him's bothering me. They were pretty quick to spirit him off just now."

Before he could say more, two Oto-nin launched towards them, and he shoved her protectively back, leaping to meet them with a ferocious glare. Narumi blinked, eyes widening as she looked towards the place where the three brothers had leapt over the wall.

If it was bothering sensei, it was probably big. Especially if it had to do with Gaara. She swallowed hard, hand clenching around her weapon as she remembered his bloodshot eyes, and the way he'd dragged those strange shinobi down the hall and crushed them with his sand.

Then she clenched her jaw and lifted her chin. But he was a Jinchuuriki, like her. She had felt his chakra, and the chakra of his demon. And she had seen his interaction with his team.

It was her duty as a kunoichi of Konoha to protect her village, no matter the personal cost. That meant nullifying the threat to her village, no matter how dangerous or frightening the task was.

But she also had a duty to her fellow Jinchuuriki. As someone who bore the same burden, she couldn't turn her back on him. He frightened her in ways that she'd never been frightened before. She was desperately afraid of him, because she could so easily have been him.

But she couldn't let that cause her to hesitate any longer. Her entire being, all her instincts and training, shouted at her that it was her duty to act. She was no little girl to cower in corners and let others deal with the danger.

Setting her shoulders, her eyes flashed as she made her decision. Dashing for the railing separating her from the stadium, she pushed chakra into her legs, drawing on all the speed she could muster.

Behind her she heard Kakashi-sensei cry out in alarm, but she ignored it. One of the Oto-nin turned and struck out at her, but she whipped her body around in the spherical motions that Ero-sennin had drilled into her so well, and flew into the air.

Arching her back, she spun over the mans arm, and rolled over the railing. As she fell, she turned and sent chakra to the soles of her feet and the palms of her hands. Clinging to the wall with her hands and toes, she slid to a stop on the surface of the wall.

She clung there for a moment as her body readjusted to her sudden change of position. Above her, she could hear Kakashi-sensei ordering her to stay put, his voice sharp and tense. But the metallic clash of kunai blades told her the Oto-nin had no intention of allowing anyone else to escape, and she had a duty to fulfill.

Springing to her feet, she raced around the stadium, body parallel to the ground below her as she ran. The suna jounin in the arena spotted her, and sent four kunai with exploding tags fluttering from the handles arcing up towards her before the proctor recaptured his attention.

Tossing a glance over her shoulder as the blades struck the wall not far behind her, she raced for the top of the wall and swung her body over the top, dropping down the other side as the sound of the explosion reached her ears.

Flinching slightly, she rubbed a hand over one ear as she sprang off the wall and onto the nearest roof. Without pausing, she inhaled deeply, catching the scents of Gaara and Teruyoshi both.

Narrowing her eyes, she sprang after them, locked onto their trail as she leapt from building to building. Soon she realized that they were heading out of the village. When she reached the great wall surrounding Konoha, she took another deep sniff, and found their trail led directly over it.

Dashing to the top of the wall, she wondered why none of the chuunin who were assigned to patrol and guard the wall had stopped them. Even if they did have explicit permission to be inside Konoha, foreign shinobi were supposed to be carefully monitered.

She was surprised to find the top of the wall totally devoid of shinobi. Unnerved, she stopped for a moment to survey her surroundings. Glancing to the east, she paled. An enormous, three-headed snake had crushed a large section of wall and lay half in and half out of the village, hissing menacingly.

Around the beast were the flashing blurs of many, many shinobi engaging in midair combat. She could only suppose there were more on the ground, and several more seemed tasked to keep the snake at bay.

Shuddering, she wiped the palms of her hands on her pants. That must be where all the patrols had gone. Resolutely turning away from the scene, she mentally entrusted the safety of the village to her older, more experienced comrades, and continued on the trail she'd been following.

Swallowing hard, she queasily wondered if she'd ever be able to look at snakes again without feeling a certain amount of loathing. Then she shook her head grimly, and forced herself to re-focus on the task at hand.

Once in the forest, she had the advantage. Shinobi were all acclimated to the unique attributes and dangers of their home ground, and she was no different. She'd spent the greater part of her life learning to bound through the trees as easily as if their branches were solid ground.

Maneuvering here, in the thick forest of towering trees, she was at home, completely in her element. It was as if the land itself lent her strength and speed. The Suna-nin, on the other hand, were used to the arid, shifting sands of desert, accustomed to ever shifting terrain and unceasing wind that covered their tracks.

While they were capable of maneuvering here, they lacked the natural ease and grace that Narumi possessed, her powerful thigh and core muscles launching her through the trees more quickly than they could travel.

After entering the trees, the scents quickly grew stronger, as did her sense of Gaara's blazing, scarlet-laced chakra. She was gaining, and gaining quickly. Abruptly, the feel of the redheads chakra began moving away from her more quickly.

'They must have sensed me somehow.'

Narrowing her eyes, she increased the flow of chakra through her legs slightly, further fortifying and enhancing the already formidable muscles. Fine. If that was how they wanted to play it, they could go right ahead. She'd still win this particular contest. Damned if she'd be outdone on her own home-ground.

Soon after, just as they'd begun to put a fair amount of distance between themselves and Konoha, she caught up to the brothers. They halted on a branch ahead of her, and she alighted just across from them, voice triumphant.

"Finally caught up. Didn't think I'd just let you get away, did ya? Ain't happenin', 'ttebayo!"

Teruyoshi stared hard at her, grip on his limp brothers wrist tightening.

"Uzumaki."

The other blondes green eyes flickered back and forth between her and the boy whose arm was slung around his neck. He swallowed hard, sweat beading at his temples as their other brother, Kankuo, slid a few steps to the side, away from Gaara.

Drawing in a deep breath, Teruyoshi glared at her, his voice dropping to a lower register as he growled at her.

"Get out of here now if you what's good for you, Konoha."

Baring her teeth, she snarled back at him, completely undeterred by the threat lurking beneath the surface of his words.

"Like hell!"

Both boys scowled at her, and Teruyoshi's voice was sharper than ever as he bit out his next words.

"You're already too late anyway. There's no point."

She knew what he was trying to say. But he had no clue what he was saying, what he was suggesting she do. Lifting her chin and pulling her shoulders back, she straightened proudly.

"As long as we carry the Will of Fire, there is always a point."

There was a moment of silence, where the Suna-nin merely stared at her with an unreadable gaze. Kankuro broke the tense atmosphere, stepping in front of his brothers and removing a freshly wrapped puppet from his back.

"I'll hold her off, Aniki. Take Gaara and go."

Teruoshi startled, eyes widening slightly as he stared at Kankuro.

"Are you sure?"

The black-clad boy chuckled, eyes intent on Narumi, and refused to look back at his brothers as he answered.

"Of course I'm sure. You take care of the mission, and I'll catch up to you once I've dealt with this."

Teruyoshi shifted his grip on Gaara a couple of times, staring at the back of Kankuro's headdress. Then he nodded firmly, chin jerking down in acknowledgment.

"Understood."

Then he was off, springing away through the trees. Narumi shouted and tried to circle the current opponent, attempting to spring after her wayward prey. But Kankuro moved with her, smirking even as he blocked her movement.

Narumi halted, frustrated, as the scents traveled further and further away from her.

"Guess I've got no choice."

As she started to fall into a combat stance, a cool voice rang out behind her.

"No, Narumi-chan. That won't be necessary."

Startled, she threw a sharp look over her shoulder. Shinako Aburame stood just behind her, hood drawn up over her hair, dark glasses glinting as she came up to stand beside her.

"I've been following you you for a while now."

Narumi swallowed her surprise, shifting slightly closer to her comrade and eyeing the enemy across from them warily.

"Why?"

The darker girl flushed slightly, and her voice was both determined, and slightly embarrassed.

"It came to my attention as you left the stadium that you needed backup."

Shaking her head slightly, the other girl shifted her weight forward.

"It is of no importance. I'll handle this. You go after Gaara."

Narumi hesitated, and then nodded, bumping the quiet girls shoulder with her own and murmuring quietly to her.

"Thanks, Shinako. Be careful, 'ttebayo."

The Aburame inclined her head slightly, and then Narumi shot into the trees surrounding them, circling around behind Kankuro, and speeding off after the other two Suna-nin.

Behind her, she could hear Kankuro laugh.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, kiddo? I don't go easy on little girls, no matter ho weird they are."

Shinako's soft voice was sharp, and cold as ice when she replied, and Narumi shivered at the tone, even as a pleased grin spread across her face.

"Oh, I assure you, I am most willing. Unfortunately, I can't give you a handicap, since you are an enemy of the village. You will not leave this place."

Then she was out of hearing range, and had to concentrate on her footing and catching up to her quarry as she shot through the forest at high speed.

Not long after she left the two adversaries behind, she managed to catch up to the other two Suna-nin. She grinned tightly at them as she launched herself into the air and twisted to come down facing them.

Falling into a combat stance, she blatantly blocked their way, hissing softly at them in triumph.

"That's as far as you go!"

They'd come to a stop as soon as she'd re-appeared and something about the pair seemed...off.

That was when the wind changed direction. She found herself downwind of the two remaining Suna-nin, and what she smelled on that rush of air chilled her blood for a moment.

Gaara's scent. It wasn't merely tinged with the metallic, dry odor that she'd come to associate with his demon. It was practically smothered in it, the human scent of him drowned out by the beast she could sense just beneath his skin.

Her stomach twisted sickeningly, and she suddenly knew what Suna had planned. Why they were so keen on bringing Gaara, making sure that he had enough chakra, and alarmed when he seemed to momentarily fall through on their expectations.

'By all the Kami, it's the demon! They're going to let the demon take over him. Just like the Kyuubi tries to do to me sometimes. And then they'll use the demon against Konoha. Are they insane?'

Her mouth went dry as she stared at the two other genin, her mind racing as she worked through the implications. This was a potential disaster for Konoha. People still spoke of the Kyuubi attack with awe and fear in their voices.

Bijuu were destructive beyond belief, and the destruction left in their wake was slow to heal. This time, Konoha would have no legendary Yondaime to save them from the beast. If that was even possible.

She knew now that Yondaime-sama had saved the village by sealing Kyuubi into her newborn self. But Bijuu who already had hosts could not be re-sealed in another person or object until their current jinchuuriki was dead.

Teruyoshi didn't seem to realize that she'd just figured out the horrific plan he was trying to safeguard. Grimly, he started to shift, as if looking for a way to dart around her. Then Gaara lifted his head slightly, pale eyes sliding open to glare at his brother, though the expression lacked strength.

"Put me down Teruyoshi."

Surprised, the other blonde glanced down at his brother, his grip slackening slightly as he regarded the slight redhead.

"Gaara! Can you move again?"

Even before he received an answer, carefully slid his arms free of the boy, allowing him to stand on his own. Gaara flinched, and pressed a hand to his head as if in pain. Though his legs were unsteady, he remained standing.

Teruyoshi's eyes were darting between her and Gaara, and he seemed agitated, but Narumi ignored him, her attention entirely focused on the other jinchuuriki. Leaning closer to his brother, body tense he started to pull something from his weapons holster.

Widening his stance, Gaara fixed his eyes on Narumi, growling ferociously at the other Suna-nin crouched beside him.

"Go away Teruyoshi!"

The older boy blinked in surprise, his shoulders losing their rigid set, hand clasped loosely around a container of something that smelled like medicinal herbs.

"Eh? Gaara?"

The red head scowled, stance firming as he suddenly smashed a painful looking backhand into his brothers ribs, sending him flying off to the side.

"Just go over there! You're in the way!"

Teruyoshi choked out a surprised cry before he struck the tree. When he hit the trunk, his head snapped back, cracking loudly against the weathered bark. His eyes widened, white showing all the way around his iris, and then slid closed as he slumped to the branch unconscious.

Narumi stared wide-eyed at the sudden, callous display of brute strength. The boy heaved in a few panting breathes, eyes closed. Then his dark ringed eyes snapped open, fixing intently on her.

Oddly enough, his expression wasn't nearly as maniac or menacing as it had been in the stadium. But that only made her more wary. She knew Gaara wasn't truly, fully insane. But neither was she, and she knew the madness and danger of Bijuu.

She feared Kyuubi, even though he was locked securely within the seal on her abdomen. And if she feared Kyuubi, she was not so foolish as to not fear the other Bijuu. However Gaara behaved right now, the fact was that his demon lay very close beneath the surface of his skin. She'd have to be careful.

Cracks suddenly spiderwebbed across Gaara's skin, and he convulsed, crying out and snatching at his hair. Narumi's eyes widened. After a moment, he seemed to get the pain under control, squinting one eye closed and fixing the other unblinkingly on her.

"You. You're strong. I can smell predator on you."

Slowly, Narumi nodded, bright blue eyes fixed on the pained figure before her, body tense and hyper-aware as she prepared herself for whatever came next.

"Yes. And I can smell it on you as well."

His eyes widened, demonic chakra pulsing as he hissed out in a strangely compelling tone.

"You have friends. Goals. And you are similar to me."

Ignoring the almost accusatory pitch lent to the last few words. Narumi swallowed hard. She wasn't sure why this scared her so much, but she was the kunoichi who would become Hokage. She wasn't about to let a little fear stand in her way when she needed to take action.

"Yes. I am like you."

Excitement entered the other genin's voice, and his body practically vibrated with anticipation, bloodlust leaking from him in thick, sluggish waves.

"By killing you, I can exist in this world! I will be the one who erased your existence! If I kill you, I will feel alive!"

Narumi gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay as relaxed and limber as possible. Her modified taijutsu would be rendered useless if her body was stiff and rigid, and she couldn't afford a disadvantage like that right now.

With an agonized cry, the other boy hit his knees, screaming and clawing at his hair. Narumi's eyes widened, watching as pieces of his face appeared to flake away, cracks spreading further and further.

Suddenly feeling an intense desire to help, she started to move forward, half-intending to leap to his side. She couldn't have said why. She knew it would have been beyond foolish. But she couldn't be sure she wouldn't have done it, had she not been already too late.

Gaara's arm suddenly exploded into the great, clawed thing that had attacked Sasuke from within Gaara's defense just before the beginning of the invasion. And it wasn't just his arm either. That entire half of his upper body and head had changed as well. Transforming his screams of pain into words, he howled at her.

"You are my PREY!"

He stilled for a moment, and when the transformed eye slid open, she saw that the sclera had turned black, and his iris had transformed into a shining gold with a cross shaped pupil. A shiver ran down her spine as that eye fixed on her.

Suddenly the half-boy, half-beast sprang at her with an enraged cry. Saliva flew from the corner of the transformed, lipless side of his mouth, and his razor fangs glinted in the dappled light seeping through the forest canopy.

Alarmed, Narumi sprang up and a way, summoning a Kage Bunshin to yank her onto a higher branch. The one she'd been standing on splintered under the force of the enormous hand that Gaara had smashed into it.

Gaara grinned crazily up at her, voice rough as the transformed appendage writhed around him as if it had a life of its own.

"Are you scared of me...? Are you scared of me Uzumaki?"

Compressing her lips, she summoned five more clones, and growled decisively at him.

"Like hell, 'ttebayo!"

She launched herself from the branch, surrounded by her clones as they all hurtled towards the figure below them. Gaara laughed wildly, lashing out wildly. Three clones were thrown into trees when his thrashing arm hit them.

Another dispersed when he tore a hole in its side with his claws. Narumi narrowed her eyes as ghost pain flitted across her nerves, memories from the clones flashing through her mind as she reached her target.

Careful not to come within arms reach of him, she launched a barrage of shuriken at him. Drawing his arm around to use it as a shield. When the shuriken struck, they were sucked into his arm, almost as if it were quicksand.

Cursing, Narumi sprang back into another tree, eyeing him warily. He chuckled darkly, crazed grin spreading wider as he crowed at her.

"Here, let me give these back!"

The kunai re-emerged from his arm, speeding towards her, their blades glowing cherry red with heat. Swiftly throwing herself into a spin, she threw torso forward, managing to twist around the blades without being hit.

One passed so close by her that she felt the heat of its blade on her face for a fleeting moment.

'Note to self. Don't throw sharp pointy objects at him unless absolutely necessary.'

Gaara roared with laughter, and launched himself towards her, his speed many times greater than she would have thought considering his unbalanced, bulky body.

Clenching her jaw tightly, she turned towards him with wide eyes, alarmed. Seeing the enormous arm whistling towards her, she realized that she couldn't dodge, and the experiences of her shadow clones whispered that that arm would tear through her like wet paper.

Can't defend, can't evade. Time to get down and dirty.

Once again, she swung her body into a full on twisting rotation, slinging her upper body beneath the sweeping slice of Gaara's arm, and smashing her foot into the human side of his face with all the force she could muster.

Gaara was taken off guard by the move, and sent flying into a tree, his strange arm winding around it and latching on. She snorted. Well, she was better at close combat anyway. Long range was Sasuke-teme's gig.

Sand poured out of the boys gourd, forming into a long, barbed tail behind him. She hissed, realizing that whatever was going on, progression of a transformation involving demonic chakra was probably not a good thing.

Gritting her teeth, she squared her shoulders and bounced once on the balls of her feet, locking gazes with Gaara. Determined ocean blue battling against enraged gold and turquoise.

"Why don't you just calm down, Gaara."

The boys eyes widened, and he raised a hand to press to his temple, staring at her as if she'd grown a second head. Then he shook his head wildly and glared at her, as if willing her to combust on the spot.

"Why? Why do you fight? Don't you know I'm going to kill you!"

Narumi blinked. There were parts of it she couldn't explain, but the most basic part of her motivation was something that spilled easily from her mouth, and and her heart, so much a part of her that she didn't even have to think about it. She was fighting now for the same reason she always fought when it came to a real battle.

A growl rumbled in her chest, and she when she spoke her voice was strong.

"To protect my comrades! You're hurting them. You and your village."

The answer seemed to anger her opponent, and he scowled at her, tail lashing wildly.

"I'll kill you!"

Clenching her teeth, she sprang at him, clenching her fists as she hurtled towards the branch on which he stood. As she neared him, he lashed out with his tail, cracking her across her lower torso, and sending her hurtling into a tree.

As her back slammed into the bark, she grunted in pain, dazedly scrambling to remain upright with her feet under her. Shaking her head to clear it, she heaved in a painful breath, fixing her eyes on the agitated Suna-nin.

"K-kuso!"

'This is bad! He's stronger than I thought! He's not trying to keep control of the Bijuu at all!'

Gaara laughed wildly, throwing his head back, mouth wide open to reveal the unnervingly clear divide between glistening demon fangs, and normal human teeth.

"You fight for others? HAH! Look at you! You may be a predator, but these foolish ideas have made you dull and slow! Fighting for them, it's made you so weak!"

Crazed eyes lowered back to her as his laughter died away.

"Throw away such ideas, and fight only for yourself! I want to kill a true predator, not a toothless kitten!"

Narrowing her eyes, she growled threateningly at him, feeling the almost animalistic sound rumble in her chest and rise through her throat. It was very satisfying, a perfect expression of her anger.

"Foolish? Fighting for my comrades, my friends is foolish?"

Bending her knees, she raised her hands in front of her and cracked her knuckles angrily, eyes blazing as she called on her chakra to reinforce her body. Playtime was over.

"Listen up, bastard! I'm gonna beat some sense into you!"

Drawing a long handled kunai from her holster, she launched herself into the air, flipping around and hurtling down towards him, weapon raised. Gaara had been tracking her progress, but he hesitated as she came towards him, human hand rising in the now familiar gesture of clutching at his temple.

She thought she had him, but his tail whipped up and knocked her back with an almost distracted flick. One of the barbs caught at the lower part of her shirt, slashing it open, but it never touched her skin, and the strike was almost gentle compared to the previous hit.

Twisting around, she caught a branch and swung her body into a slingshot maneuver around it, shedding her momentum, and landing lightly atop it, chakra instinctively rushing to the soles of her feet and grounding her on the mossy bark.

Launching back in, she lashed out at him with her hands and feet, moving around him in tight, circular motions as she launched every kick and punch she could manage in his direction.

Gaara's head thrashed from side to side, his strange limbs undulating around his body to shield him from her strikes as she tried again and again to reach him. Frustrated, she launched her body into a drop-heel kick aimed at his head.

That arm of his caught it, and the next thing she knew, her foot was being sucked into the sandy substance that made up his transformed arm. A golden eye locked onto her, and she snarled, alarmed. Quickly, she leapt up and planted her other foot on the surface of the limb, shoving off before he could grab it like he had the other.

The force of the move sent her flying back to a distant branch, and yanked her foot savagely free of the trap that held it. She winced, gritting her teeth against the flare of hot pain in her ankle, before shoving it away, knowing Kyuubi would heal it in a matter of moments.

Gaara roared, eyes wild, strange limbs extending and swinging wildly. Narumi widened, dodging backward as the strange appendages smashed through the trunks of several full grown trees, felling them in an instant.

Gasping, she surged backward, flipping out of range. A bead of sweat flew from her skin as she landed again, staring. Too strong. This guy was too strong for her to take head on as she'd planned. She needed help.

'This'll take a lot of chakra...but it's all I can think of!'

Flashing through a quick series of hand seals, she lifted her thumb to her mouth, and bit it lightly, just enough to break the skin. Blood welled to the surface, thick and red, it's coppery scent sharp in the air around them.

Quickly, before Gaara could react adversely to the scent of the substance he claimed to crave, she slammed her hand down on the bark at her feet.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

At the moment she started to push out her chakra, Gaara began to transform fully. Her eyes widened, taking in the strange, squat, sharp-toothed form that crouched before her, and alarm ran through her.

'I have to draw on Kyuubi's chakra to summon Boss! But pulling out more Bijuu chakra right now is probably a really bad idea.'

At the last moment, she pulled away from the crimson chakra she'd been about to feed into her jutsu, instead calling on the calming well of blue at her core. The more limited amount of chakra spilled from her hand, twisting in the familiar pattern.

Instead of Boss, what appeared before her in a puff of smoke was an orange toad small enough to ride on her head. It blinked up at her, apparently confused.

"What the...nothing but a squirt! Oi, I ain't playin' with you without a snack!"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes or smack the thing, she turned away sharply, eyes fixed on her enemy.

"Sorry, I don't have time to play right now! Kinda busy!"

The small creature twisted around and craned it's neck to look over its shoulder towards Gaara from its place at her feet. It's yellow eyes shot wide open, but she had no time to dismiss the creature.

Gaara swung an arm, crying out in a voice that was amazingly still identical to his normal one.

"Suna shuriken!"

Globs of hardened and no doubt deadly sand were suddenly sent hurtling towards them. Alarmed, Narumi scooped up the small toad in her arms, holding it tightly against her chest as she tried to dodge.

One of the clumps of sand struck her hard in the shoulder, sending her spinning from the branch to crash into a trunk behind her, and then down onto a further branch, body aching from the impact.

The toad squinted up at her, it's voice unimpressed as it lay across her arms.

"You're weak."

Glaring indignantly at the small animal in its haori, she growled at it through gritted teeth.

"Shut up!"

It ignored her, wiggling out of her arms and hopping forward to perch on her knee, gesturing curiously towards Gaara's transformed self with one wide webbed foot.

"Who is that?"

She looked at the strange being grinning madly at her from it's perch, and stared hard at the golden eyes. Something about them had been bothering her. It was the feeling she had gotten from them that had originally drawn her in, despite a strong sense that this was her enemy.

In that moment, it struck her what she was seeing. Loneliness. His eyes were so very lonely, and sad. A familiar agony that used to stare back at her every time she looked in the mirror. Before. When she was small, and had no one, he eyes had looked just like that.

When she spoke, her voice was soft, and steady. She wasn't sure if she was speaking to the toad, to herself, or to the creature that lashed its tail hungrily as it stared at her.

"He's Gaara. Gaara of Sunagakure."

'I don't know what happened to him. But he's not lucky like me. He never found people. He's been alone, and all he can ever rely on is himself.'

Sucking in a shuddering breath, she forced herself to her feet, chest feeling like it was filled nearly to bursting with something she couldn't identify. Whatever it was, it sent waves of energy coursing through her blood and set her muscles twitching, eager for action.

Putting the toad down carefully on the branch, she crouched and pushed off, flying towards Gaara as fast as she could manage, and lifting her fingers into the cross shaped seal of her favorite jutsu.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin!"

A good thirty clones appeared around her, and all of them hurtled in together, eyes grim, knuckles popping. Mouthes appeared all over Gaara's body, sucking in huge gusts of air, his chest expanding grotesquely. Then he blew it all out in one great fuuton jutsu, enveloping all the clones and the original in a gale of wind borne sand.

Experiences rushed into Narumi as the clones dispersed around her, all of them held almost still in the air by the pressure of the updraft. She found herself spinning backwards to crash hard into another trunk.

Dazedly, she allowed herself to sprawl across a branch, pain radiating across her body as she coughed, fighting for breath after the unsuccessful attack. Absently, she wondered if she was grateful for, or alarmed at, the presence of so many trees in her homeland.

On the one hand, it was the environment that she was most comfortable in, which was something only Konoha-nin could really claim. On the other hand, the trees seemed perfectly willing to help Gaara beat her to a pulp.

Gaara's voice rang in her ears, dark and slightly sadistic as he murmured to her, his tone almost gentle in its softness.

"I'll play around with you for now, so you don't die just yet. I can't wait to see you give up!"

Narumi struggled to her hands and knees, her breathing harsh as she glared at him. She was sorely tempted to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra, but who knew how volatile a mix the chakra of multiple Bijuu would be.

And besides all that, it felt wrong. Fighting fire with fire would not work in this case, it would only put her in danger of being burned as badly as her opponent. Maybe worse, because from the looks of things, she had a lot more to lose than he did.

That same feeling rushed up through her, and with an effort, she shoved herself to her feet, lifting her head to glare at Gaara. She could feel the sticky warmth of a trail of blood oozing down her chin from the corner of her mouth, and wondered vaguely what she'd bitten.

Drawing in a deep breath, she shouted at Gaara, voice and posture defiant and determined.

"I won't lose to you, not even if I have to die!"

Reaching back into her weapons pouch, she extracted a shuriken and an exploding tag, slowly and carefully wrapping the tag around the handle. She had a vague idea, nothing like a strategy. But it was all she had, so she'd run with it as far as she could.

Quickly, she summoned four shadow clones, each of them with a kunai in hand. Pushing off from the branch, they shot towards him, bodies tense with the knowledge that this would most likely be painful.

"Let's go!"

Gaara's grin widened, and his hand shot out to catch three of them at once. The clones wrapped their arms around his fingers, twining their legs around his wrist for a firm grip, and shouted back to the rest of the group.

"Now, boss!"

Another Narumi sailed in to plant her feet firmly on Gaara's outstretched hand, the edges of another Narumi's jacket clenched tight in her fists as she arched her spine back, face twisted into a snarl of concentration.

WIth an almighty heave, she whipped the last Narumi figure towards Gaara at high speed. This one lifted her hands into the familiar hand seal, calling out sharply.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Just as she was about to crash into Gaara's face, even as his other hand reached up to snatch her, she was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. The clone that appeared grabbed the original, and whipped around, taking her place. Gaara's free hand struck the clone away, but Narumi sailed over his head with a cry.

"Again!"

Lifting her hands as she twisted to face his back, she called forth another clone. This one appeared face down in the air below her, and she used it's back as a launching pad, changing her direction so that she landed directly behind Gaara.

Slamming her fist forward in a powerful straight punch that landed right over his spine, she shuddered to a halt. If his body had still been that of a human, she would have done fairly serious damage. For a shinobi, they'd have a nasty bruise and the wind knocked out of them, but for a civilian, it would have snapped their spine.

Gaara, however, barely seemed to notice. His head twisted around to look at her, and his tail smashed into her side, throwing her away from him. Her hair tie had slipped free of the end of her braid, and the loose golden strands of her hair fluttered and swirled around her, shading her eyes as she was flung backwards through the air.

Quietly, she murmured a single word to herself, even as her spine arched from the pain of the blow, and blood trickled down the side of her face.

"Boom."

The kunai with it's harmless looking tag, the one that Gaara hadn't noticed her leave embedded in his thick, sandy hide, exploded violently. Smoke obscured Gaara from her sight as she skidded across a wide branch, rolling a few times before fetching up against the trunk.

The little orange toad was next to her face, it's flippers folded across the top of its head as it squinted one eye open to look between her and the last place it had seen her enemy.

"N-nice move. Did you get him?"

Blinking to clear her vision, she turned her gaze back to the clearing smoke, the same question wandering through her mind. Gaara was still standing, but half of his strange sand body seemed like it was melting off, and he didn't look happy at all.

Absently running a finger across one of the small toads eye ridges, she kept her eyes on Gaara.

"No. But I've made a start. I said I'd beat sense into him, and I will!"

Struggling to her feet, she lifted her hands into a basic seal, and snarled, calling on her chakra with all of her strength, reaching deep within the well of energy at her core to call it forth in a great wave.

The resulting burst was so intense that it manifested visibly, a writing ball of blue flames that twined around her, bright and slightly lighter in shade than her own eyes. Power flowed around her as she pushed deeper.

Lazy currents of air stirred up by the presence of her chakra lifted her hair, causing it to swirl and writhe in the air around her in a strange fashion, and tugging at her jacket and shirt, causing them to flutter.

"I'll show you Gaara! I'll definitely protect everyone!"

Silently, though she wasn't sure how she'd manage it, she grimly added a last few words to the end of her statement.

'...including you!'

An army of clones burst into existence, splotching the green of the forest with orange and gold as the grinned at Gaara. The voice of the pleased amphibian at her feet floated up to her as the little toad surveyed her work.

"You're not bad. Guess you've got some good qualities after all."

Twisting wildly to stare at the immense numbers surrounding him, Gaara choked out a half snarl in angry disbelief.

"What's with this number of bunshin?"

All at once, all the Narumi's surged forward. A barrage of shuriken flew towards Gaara and he threw up his still untouched arm to protect himself in alarm. As the shuriken struck, another group of clones rose up from beneath the branch he perched on.

Somersaulting in the air, they slammed their feet into him, throwing the thick body up into the air. Every other clone who could find purchase surged forward and sank their fists into him with a simple right straight.

Each punch had all the weight and strength the original Narumi could throw into it, and it was replicated many times over, fists sinking into every square inch of the sandy body. As the clones leapt away into the trees, Gaara's deformed, melted looking body hurtled downwards and crashed hard into the forest floor.

Whip quick, the clones reversed themselves and flew down after him, intent on pummeling him with as many kicks as possible, and deepening the crater he lay in. Wild gold eyes stared up at them as they descended through the air.

Wrenching himself upright, Gaara roared up at her in fury.

"I won't lose to you!"

The clones eyes widened as an enormous construct of barbed, blue-veined, sandy flesh sprouted up from the ground, surging upwards and blasting through the greater number of clones, dispersing them with blasts of smoke and displaced chakra.

Narumi sucked in a sharp breath as the experiences of the clones rushed into her system, phantom pain dancing along her body from the myriad wounds that had dispersed each clone.

A blast of smoke erupted where the clones had been, and Narumi found herself and the little toad both thrown violently back through the air. Catching the creature in the crook of one arm, she stared up wide-eyed at the enormous being coming into view through the slowly settling smoke and dust.

She swallowed hard, a tremor running down her spine, and then back up to the base of her skull. A Bijuu. Gaara's Bijuu loomed above the forest. She felt like someone had thrown ice water on her.

Gaara's voice, booming and cold with rage echoed down from the beast, though its mouth never moved.

"Didn't expect to have to use this technique!"

It raised it's clawed hand towards her, and she struggled with confusion over wether this was some transformed version of Gaara, or the actual Bijuu itself. Then she heard hissing, and felt the brush against her skin.

Looking down in alarm, she cried out as sand wrapped around her body, yanking her arms to her sides and holding her tightly in place. Staring down at the undulating substance holding her, she gritted her teeth.

She'd already used most of her chakra on that Tajuu Kage Bunshin. Sand rose slowly up to wrap her in a cocoon, and she knew that Gaara was planning to crush her, just as he'd crushed the shinobi who'd approached him before his match with Sasuke.

Resolve hardened in her chest. She wouldn't lose like this. Clenching her fist tightly, she felt blood run over her fingers. It was enough. She still thought this was risky, but it was all that was left to her at the moment, so she'd have to go for it.

Flashing through the seals, she heard Gaara's voice from outside her prison.

"This is it for you! Sabaku-"

Before he could finish the technique and crush her, she slammed her hand into the sand surrounding her and shouted.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Sand exploded around her, mingling with smoke as a slightly damp surface appeared beneath her feet, and her body surged upwards. Breathing hard, she fixed her eyes on the creature before her, its tail waving agitatedly back and forth.

Gaara's dark chuckle rang out, quickly followed by his amused voice.

"Uzumaki Narumi...you entertain me greatly."

Beneath her, GamaBunta rumbled irately, just as she remembered him.

"What the hell? You again? What do you want?"

Blinking, she gestured helplessly towards the beast across from them. Gamabunta blinked, and shifted his eyes towards it, apparently surprised into silence for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was contemplative.

"That's...Shukaku of the sand..."

The small toad she'd summoned earlier suddenly flopped onto her shoulder, addressing Gamabunta plainly.

"Kid needs some help here, Pops."

Large yellow eyes swiveled up to peer at the two of them, and Gamabunta rumbled in surprise beneath her feet.

"What are you doing here, Gamakichi?"

The little toad shrugged, voice nonchalant.

"I was bored, so I came out here to play. Anyway, that guy tried to pick on me!"

This last was said while pointing dramatically at the newly dubbed Shukaku/Gaara. Narumi just crossed her eyes to peer up at the little thing, still dumbfounded by the new revelation.

"You two are father and son?"

Gamabunta rumbled dangerously beneath her feet, temper building almost palpably.

"What was that?"

The little toad flopped forward on her hair, large feet dangling over her forehead as he nestled down against her hair.

"Then this kunoichi helped me out. She was able to fight equally with him. She's a pretty interesting woman, ya know?"

Gamabunta listened patiently, his tone deceptively mild as he eyed the large being in front of them.

"I see."

Reaching back to wrap his webbed hand around the wooden hilt of a dagger worn at his side, Gamabunta addressed her in his own rough manner.

"Gaki! I formally accept you as my subordinate."

Drawing his sword, he glared at Shukaku/Gaara, voice stern.

"I'll show you how the moral code works in this world!"

Turning his attention away from her, he addressed the enemy, voice rumbling menacingly.

"You're gonna pay for what you did, flunky!"

Narumi stumbled and fell back with a yelp as Gamabunta surged forward, quickly bracing herself with chakra. Shukaku/Gaara raised a clawed hand as they charged, as if intending to attack.

Narrowing his eyes, the toad boss shot past his enemy, slicing the upraised arm cleanly off with his long dagger. The severed limb melted away into ordinary sand as it was parted from the main body.

"INTERESTING! THIS IS SO INTERESTING, UZUMAKI NARUMI!"

As he turned, Shukaku/Gaara raised his hands into a seal. Suddenly, Gaara's torso rose from the sandy flesh of the beasts head, half slumped as he peered over at her through the hair flopping over his eyes.

Gamabunta seemed surprised, peering at the slight form protruding from the great beasts head.

"Is that the host?"

Gaara's voice was low, lacking the bloodlust or mania that he had exhibited earlier in his transformed state. Narumi shifted nervously, and for a moment, she wondered if her opponents unconscious brother would be safe where Gaara had left him.

"This is a reward for entertaining me. I'll show you Shukaku's true strength."

As Gaara brought his hands together again in that same hand seal, Gamabunta spoke quietly to himself.

"Yeah, definitely the host. Just look at the rings around his eyes."

Narumi frowned, going to one knee and leaning over an eye ridge to meet Gamabunta's gaze as best she could.

"What, Boss? What about 'em?"

Turning his attention briefly to her, the great toad explained as quietly as possible, though it was hard to be truly soft spoken when your quietest whisper boomed out over the trees.

"Insomnia. Hosts to Shukaku always have insomnia. They can't sleep properly, because they're too afraid. When they fall asleep, Shukaku torments them with horrible dreams that shred their mind and sanity. It's the reason so many of Shukaku's host become unstable."

Narumi frowned, lifting her eyes back to Gaara. Afraid to sleep? She'd been through a lot with Kyuubi, but at least she could sleep alright. Whether it was because of the seal that held him back, or maybe the fox was simply less twisted than the monster racoon before her. Either way, she certainly seemed more fortunate than Gaara now.

Gamabunta crouched a bit lower, and now his voice was wary.

"As long as the host is awake, Shukaku's power is limited. But if he falls asleep, Shukaku will fully emerge."

Gaara muttered something under his breath, and his chakra surged, turning inwards. Narumi's eyes widened, and her head jerked up in alarm. But it was too late to do anything.

Gaara slumped heavily forward, chin falling to his chest and arms swaying limply as collapsed into a deep sleep that looked remarkably close to unconsciousness. Below her Gamabunta barked out in alarm.

"He's done it now!"

Narumi gulped, crouching lower and spreading her hands on the surface of the great toads head, feeling the smaller toad twist webbed fingers into her hair in much the same fashion.

"Boss?"

Her tentative voice was drowned out as Shukaku threw back its head and cackled shrilly. She shivered as it crowed at the sky. That was not Gaara's voice any longer, and she didn't like the difference.

Even the scents on the wind had changed, and she realized now where that metalic scent of madness had come from. Shukaku's scent, all metal and death, worse even than the Kyuubi's, overwhelmed the scent of the suna-nin, flooding her nose.

"Finally! I'm finally out here!"

She swallowed hard.

"Shukaku..."

Gamakichi kept his voice remarkably calm, despite the firmer grip he'd taken on her hair, his tone nearly laconic.

"Pretty funky, ain't he Nee-chan?"

Letting out a shrill, yelping bark, the Bijuu thrust a great claw out towards them, voice fairly dripping excited bloodlust.

"I've found someone I want to kill!"

Narumi furrowed her brows, and glared at the thing. This was the reason Gaara was always in so much pain. Part of her was afraid, and wondered how Yondaime, the Hokage she'd always looked up to, had ever faced Kyuubi alone.

The larger part, however, was angry. How dare this half-mad creature inflict so much suffering on Gaara! To rob him not only of a normal life, of caring friends and family, as the Kyuubi had done to her, but to even drive him mad by robbing him of such a simple thing as sleep!

Furious, she bared her teeth in a silent snarl.

Grimly, Gamabunta ducked his head, rumbling a warning up at her as his pipe slid to the corner of his mouth.

"We're gonna fly."

She nodded once, sharply, going to one knee to lower her center of gravity, leaving one hand spread atop the Boss' head, and lifting the other to lay gently across Gamakichi's back.

Lifting his remaining arm above his head, Shukaku screeched out a technique name, his belly distending as he spoke.

"Fuuton: Renkuudan!"

Slamming his hand into his own stomach with painful looking force, he stretched his mouth wide, an enormous bullet of wind shooting towards them so fast that it sent a blast wave rippling through the forest canopy.

Leaping high into the air, Gamabunta avoided the attack, forming a handseal of his own as he soared into the sky.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!"

A water bullet shot from the great toads mouth, and Shukaku met it with another wind bullet. Water exploded outward in a great spray, drenching the surrounding forest. Boss landed just beyond Shukaku, and immediately shot back up into the air, twisting to face the enemy.

Just in time too, as Shukaku spat out two more air bullets. Gamabunta countered them with more water bullets, causing more enormous sprays of water to lash the canopy below, making it toss as if it were caught in a heavy rain.

The spray of water temporarily masked Shukaku's movement, but it couldn't completely cover such a strong smell. Narumi sniffed hard, and then her eyes widened in alarm.

"Watch out Boss!"

Before Gamabunta could react to her warning, another air bullet exploded through the spray beneath them, striking the great toad squarely in the chest. The surface beneath her feet rocked dangerously, and she frantically channelled more chakra to her feet, tightening her fingers across Gamakichi's back.

As they crashed towards the forest floor, Shukaku crowed in delight.

"Yeah, I did it! I killed her! I killed her!"

Irate, Gamabunta surged forward out of the cloud of smoke and dust, shooting towards the celebrating racoon monster.

"That hurt, damn it. Sure molded a lot of chakra into that one, didn't ya?"

Shukaku stopped his cheers, dropping his chin aggressively, causing Gaara's torso to sway heavily. Turning his attention to Narumi, the great toad rumbled out a warning.

"Even I won't last too long if I get hit by more of those, kid."

Frowning, she kept her eyes on Shukaku, mind racing.

"So what do we do, Boss?"

Gamabunta answered her easily.

"You can wake that kid up. Punch him or something. If you do that, the technique will be dispelled."

Tightening her jaw and squaring her shoulders, Narumi barked her answer out sharply, eyes blazing.

"Right, Boss! Leave it to me, 'ttebayo!"

Shukaku shot another bullet at them, and Gamabunta twisted in midair, returning a water bullet of his own. Shukaku scoffed, moving slightly backwards as the thing exploded at his feet.

Gamabunta used the cover of the spray of water to alter his course, snatching Shukaku by the shoulders as he landed right in front of it.

"Now kid!"

Tensing, she started to move towards the limp form just across from her, but before she could manage it, Shukaku tore away from Gamabunta's grasp, and the toad was forced to leap away, causing her to miss her chance.

"Boss! You have to hold him for me to get close enough!"

The toad rumbled back, already twisting around in the air.

"I'm a frog, kid! I ain't got no fangs or claws to hold him with!"

Biting her lip in agitation, she tentatively made a suggestion.

"What about a henge? Would that work?"

The toad landed heavily, crushing several trees as he answered her.

"Aa, sure it would. But then again, I ain't no good with henge."

Rolling his eyes up to peer at her, his voice went sharp and commanding.

"You'll have to give me the form and make the seals. We'll make it a combo transformation!"

Normally Narumi would have loudly protested the idea. She wouldn't have been sure she could do it, especially not right off the bat. Why else did ninja drill jutsu so often, even after they'd learned to preform them, if not to make sure they could nail it in the thrill of battle.

But now was different. She had no time to hesitate or doubt her own ability here. Slamming her hands together in the starting seal for the familiar sequence she had learned in the academy, she summoned her chakra.

Below her, Gamabunta reminded her sharply.

"Think of something that has fangs and claws!"

Narumi gritted her teeth, mind racing. Now that he'd asked her, she couldn't clearly picture an animal with teeth and claws that would be useful. All she could see in her minds eye were otters, or porcupines. None of those seemed like a good idea.

But she had no time to think more. Gamabunta was already charging Shukaku. Drawing in a sharp breath, she muttered to herself.

"Fangs and claws, fangs and claws...come on Uzumaki, think!"

An image appeared in her mind at the very last minute, even as Gamabunta cried out loudly.

"Henge!"

Knowing it was no or never, she joined her voice to his, drawing on her chakra.

"Henge no Jutsu!"

A blast of white smoke surrounded them, and for a moment she couldn't see anything. But the damp surface beneath her feet had changed into warm, dry fur, short and fiery red. The skull she stood on was lean and narrow now, long ears tapering back behind her, and multiple tails waving in the smoke.

She swallowed hard, and inwardly snorted at the irony. One Bijuu to set against another.

Then they shot free of the smoke, and Gamabunta, in the form of the Kyuubi, was bounding across the remaining space towards the enemy. Shukaku warily shot out another bullet, and Gamabunta dodged to the side, his new form limber and agile.

Twisting around, he circled towards Shukaku, clawing at the beast. Shukaku moved backwards, tail lashing out towards them. Gamabunta writhed to the side, and the barbed tail gouged a furrow through the forest where they had been.

Gamabunta looked back over his shoulder at the gouge, and growled uneasily.

"This is bad. His powers are increasing."

Shukaku was lumbering towards them, his heavy footsteps making the ground quake and raising clouds of dust. Narrowing his eyes, Gamabunta snatched a clump of trees with one tail, uprooting them with a heave and jumping high in the air.

Shukaku launched another bullet at them, and Gamabunta flung the trees into the missile, causing an explosion of smoke and sawdust. Bursting through the cloud, he moved too fast for Shukaku to avoid, latching onto the beast with claws and fangs both.

Knowing this was the best chance she'd get, Narumi thrust chakra into her legs and back, leapt off Gamabunta's head. Throwing herself up towards Gaara. As she left his head, the henge dissipated, but it had served its purpose.

Gamabunta held Shukaku tightly as she landed atop his head, just in front of Gaara. Hot blood raced through her veins, and she bared her teeth in a snarl, enlarged canines glinting in the sunlight as she drew her arm back.

"Wake up, you IDIOT!"

There was a loud crack as she brought the flat of her hand crashing across his cheek, whipping his head to the side with the very first slap she had ever delivered. As Gaara's cheek reddened, Shukaku threw back his head with a shrill yell of fury.

"Damn it, NO!"

But it was already too late for him. Shukaku faded away as Gaara's pale eyes snapped open, fixing on Narumi. She heaved for breath, sliding slightly backwards down the slope of the beasts face, tendrils of hair falling into her eyes as she glared up at him.

Absently she noted that Gamakichi was no longer present on her head, and spared a moment to be grateful that the little guy had the good sense to leave her head before she attacked.

From behind her, where he was being slowly pushed across the forest, Gamabunta rumbled out a warning.

"Careful kid! He's still got a bit of power left in him!"

She nodded once, and launched herself back towards him. She'd nearly reached him when the surface beneath her feet gave like quicksand, sucking her left foot in and gripping it tightly, holding her in place.

Gaara glared at her, gritting out angrily.

"Sabaku Kyuu!"

Behind her, Gamakichi cried out in alarm from his fathers head as the sand surged towards her.

"Pops!"

Gamabunta grunted.

"Right!"

Suddenly the pale length of Boss' tongue wrapped around her protectively, completely enclosing her. Narumi sighed in relief. After a moment, Boss withdrew his tongue, and she glared up at Gaara.

The irate looking Suna-nin scowled at her.

"I will kill you! I won't allow my existence to disappear!"

Agitation rose in her chest, and she gritted her teeth. She couldn't let this continue any longer. She'd already used up most of her chakra. So like it or not, she'd be calling on the Kyuubi again.

Reaching deep, she felt around for, and seized, the burning crimson chakra that lurked in her abdomen. As fiery chakra blazed through her coils, the seal on her stomach surfaced, it's black swirls stark against her tanned skin, clearly visible through the ripped fabric of her shirt.

Chakra surged through her, erupting violently from the pores of her skin into a visible blaze around her. She cried out, focusing on controling it as the force of it ripped her hitae-ate from her head.

Her hair swirled and snapped, fluttering across her face as she met Gaara's eyes, yanking her feet effortlessly from where the pseudo-flesh of the beast had gripped them.

"Bring it on! I can handle anything you throw at me, ya damn tanuki!"

Surging forward, she cocked back a fist. Gaara shouted wordlessly, sand surging to wrap around her just as she reached him. Straining against the sand curling around her arms, she cursed.

With a savage jerk, she brought her knee up, jamming it hard into his stomach, and forcing the breath out of him. At the same time, her head shot forward, slamming their foreheads together hard enough to split the skin.

Gaara froze, eyes wide. The two of them stared at each other, warm blood mixing between the identical wounds on their foreheads, before trickling down their faces. Narumi's hair fluttered gently around them, enclosing them in a golden veil.

Cracks spider-webbed out from where Gaara was half buried in the thing's head, the flesh losing its color and returning to ordinary sand as the enormous figure began to crumble and disintegrate.

The sand coiled around her body spilt away, and she brought a hand up shakily to grasp Gaara's shoulder as the footing beneath them became unstable. The sand crumbled away, crashing down to the ground, and then she was falling.

She kept her grip on Gaara's shoulder as the two of them tumbled limply through the air, eyes only half open, exhaustion making itself known as her body begged her to just rest for a moment.

Somewhere off to the side, she heard Gamabunta's tired voice boom out.

"Gamakichi! We're heading home now."

A much smaller voice answered cheerfully, as undisturbed as ever.

"Right Pops!"

With an explosion of smoke, the two toads vanished. The shockwave caused by displaced air rushing into the sudden vacuum left behind by the enormous toad vanishing knocked both young ninja into the leafy foliage of a nearby tree that was sill undamaged by the battle that had been raging.

Narumi was forced to let go of Gaara as the two of them crashed down through the tree, bouncing off branches as they fell, before slamming into the ground. She gave a choking gasp, starbursts of pain spreading across her body.

After a long moment, she managed to crack her eyes open, and with great effort, pushed herself slowly to her hands and knees. Twisting her head to the side, she caught sight of Gaara.

He'd forced himself to his feet, vague eyes still focused on her, entire body trembling as he heaved for breath.

"Not...not yet...I'm not done...yet!"

She sobbed for breath, and with the last of her willpower, heaved herself to her feet. Her legs trembled beneath her, and her limbs felt as heavy as lead. Her chakra coils were nearly dry, carrying only the bare amount necessary to keep her alive. She had nothing left.

Nevertheless, she turned to face Gaara. The Suna-nin shuffled towards her, blood running down the sides of his nose from where she'd split his forehead. Slowly, as he came closer, he launched himself into a stumbling run, half lifting his fist as if to hit her.

She watched him come, eyes tired. At the last moment, she flung herself to the side, allowing his clumsy punch to fly by her shoulder. Flinging her arms open, she caught the boy, wrapping him in a clumsy, exhausted hug.

Gaara froze, apparently stunned. A small, genuine smile curled across her lips. After a moment, he spoke up, voice rough.

"Why? Why are you...smiling?"

She sighed, glad that she didn't have to fight anymore. She hated to admit it, but she was fresh out of strength. An academy student could probably off her right now, and she wouldn't even care.

"Hm? Oh. Well, I guess it was because I was able to protect both. Konoha, and you."

Gaara stiffened, and she chuckled slightly, tired giddiness flooding her brain.

"Your not a bad guy, you know? I really...want to be your friend."

Gaara growled weakly at her.

"I will not allow my existence to dissapear!"

She laughed outright at that, loosening her hold on him, and stumbling backwards until her back hit the trunk of the tree they'd fallen out of. Sliding down it, she tugged him down beside her, pulling his head down into her lap.

"Don't be silly. Of course you won't disappear. You're right here aren't you? As long as we have our friends, our comrades, our existence can never be erased."

Leaning forward, she smiled brightly down at the wide-eyed boy.

"You're my friend now, because I said so. That means you can't be erased anymore."

Leaning back, she idly wondered where her hitae-ate had gone. Remembering what Gamabunta had said about Shukaku's hosts not sleeping well, she stroked Gaara's hair gently. It was something Ikyue-sensei used to do for her, and she remembered how warm and comforting it always felt.

Gaara's voice floated up to her, small and uncertain.

"How do you know?"

She let her eyes slide closed, leaning her head back against the trunk of the tree.

"You said it yourself. You and I, we're the same. I remember how much it hurts. To be alone, I mean. To not be...wanted. And I know because I found nakama, and now I can't be forgotten anymore. I'm stronger because I want to protect them."

The red-haired boy seemed to relax at her words, eyes sliding slowly closed. She felt him drifting off, and murmured quietly to him.

"Sleep, Gaara. Everything will be alright now...'ttebayo..."

She never noticed when she fell asleep.

---

Teruyoshi blearily opened his eyes to his shoulder being shaken. Kankuro stood beside him, looking battered and worn.

"Aniki! Aniki, wake up!"

Teruyoshi groaned, lifting a hand to shove his hair back. Then his eyes shot open, and he started to his feet, alarm running through him.

"Gaara! Where are Gaara and the girl?"

Kankuro jerked his head to the side, looking uneasy and concerned.

"Over that way somewhere. There was some kind of huge battle but...I think Gaara lost."

Teruyoshi stared wide-eyed at his brother. Gaara, lose? He'd never contemplated such a possibility. Fear washed through him. What on earth had happened to his little brother?

Kankuro stood up, eyes still on Teruyoshi.

"We'd better hurry. There's a couple of Konoha-nin coming. They're nearly here."

Teruyoshi nodded sharply, and steadied himself, leaping off in the direction Kankuro had indicated. Eventually, they broke out of the trees and into a clearing surrounded by smashed trunks of felled forest giants.

He stared blankly, shocked at the scene before him. Beside him, Kankuro was in a similar state. They both gaped.

The girl was sitting against a tree, head thrown back, face tilted up to the sun, golden hair loose and spilling around her shoulders and face. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling softly in her sleep. Trails of blood were crusted from the center of her forehead down over her nose, and along one side of her face.

Her knuckles were torn and bloody, her clothes slashed, body battered, generally looking like she'd been through a painful battle. That wasn't the shocking bit though. One small, tanned hand was resting on Gaara's head, long fingers laying gently across the red strands of his hair.

Their younger brother lay with his head in her lap, as battered as the kunoichi. An identical wound on his forehead spilled blood across his face, but he was relaxed. Asleep. Teruyoshi felt his mouth slide open.

The frozen moment of awe was broken by two Konoha genin landing behind them. Both the Suna-nin whipped around to face them, bodies tense.

It was the girls teammates, both apparently as surprised as the brothers, eyes flickering from their wounded teammate to the older boys between them and her. Teruyoshi tensed, preparing to attack.

Gaara's soft, weary voice came from behind him, and the blonde's head snapped around to focus on his brother. Pale, dark rimmed eyes had slid open to look at his brothers, though he hadn't otherwise moved from his sprawl.

"Don't fight them...it's enough already..."

The four new arrivals remained tense for a moment, staring at each other. Teruyoshi was on edge. He'd never seen his brother like this before. So weakened, and sleeping of all things. Gaara never slept. What exactly had gone on while he'd been out?

Warily, he moved back slightly and spoke to the black-clad boy beside him.

"Kankuro, get Gaara. We're leaving."

Kankuro nodded and dropped back behind Teruyoshi, who remained in his defensive position between his brothers and the new threat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kankuro drop to one knee beside the two younger ninja and reach out.

The rose haired shinobi across from Teruyoshi growled, green eyes flashing warningly. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and thinned his lips. Both boys looked caught between attacking and waiting for the Suna-nin to clear the area around their injured teammate.

Behind him Kankuro gasped, drawing the eyes of all three to him. Gaara had reached up and caught his hand before he could touch the girl. With a very tired gesture of his other arm, he reached up and wrapped his hand almost gingerly around her fingers, lifting her hand carefully from his hair.

Only after he'd resettled her hand on the ground beside her did he release Kankuro's wrist. Looking confused, Kankuro slid one arm under the boys waist, and pulled Gaara's arm over his shoulders, lifting his younger brother with him as he stood.

Once Teruyoshi was sure they were ready, he nodded curtly to the two shinobi, casting one lingering glance at the sleeping girl behind him. Intense relief suddenly flooded through him as he realized that she'd survived the attack. She'd gone head to head with Gaara, and come out alive.

Relaxing slightly, he motioned to Kankuro, and the two of them leapt away into the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Konoha shinobi move swiftly towards their teammate as soon as he and his brothers were out of the way. Both looked quite agitated.

Shrugging, he turned away, focusing on guarding his more vulnerable brothers from any possible attack as the three of them moved through the dense foliage of the forest. Gaara's eyes were half open, and something about him seemed...softer...almost tentative.

When he spoke, his voice was very quiet.

"Teruyoshi...Kankuro..."

Both siblings turned their faces towards him instantly.

"...I'm sorry."

Teruyoshi's eyes widened, and his breath caught in surprise. Kankuro stared at his little brother, and then looked up at Teruyoshi, bewilderment and concern warring for dominance in his expression.

After a minute, Kankuro stuttered out an uncertain reply.

"D-don't worry about it."

Teruyoshi nodded slightly, turning his eyes ahead.

"It's nothing, Gaara."

As the three of them moved more swiftly back to the safety of the rendezvous point, he wondered if Gaara would answer if he asked him what had happened while he'd been unconscious.

---

A/N: Hello guys. First update of the summer! I kinda went a little crazy with this one.

Reviews! I thanks you all for them!
First, to Zelga Lim Li, there will be romance, I promise. I can tell you it's definitely someone she's already met, and it's a pretty unusual pairing. Hope you enjoy the developments to come!
To FraulineTraumer, I'm glad to hear you like the story! I do try my best with the characters, so it always warms me to hear some say I've done a good job with them.
To Bored and Sleep with Waffles, perhaps you have a point about the explanations. I'd hate to develop them into a crutch and neglect the actual interactions within the story. But I have gotten positive feedback as well...so here's my thought. I'll see if I can't get a poll up, and then let you guys vote. Majority rules on this matter. As a test run, I'll leave this chapter without notes. Always happy to hear from you, please continue to enjoy the story (^_^).
To firehottie, I hope you enjoyed the final exam. I'm afraid I cut it a bit short, and focused more heavily on the invasion, but I did my best not to keep it from being boring.
To ChaosIdeals, it's lovely to hear from you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
To Zandamh, I'm sorry the Narumi-Gaara scenes were disappointing for you. The idea was that as a girl, Narumi's protective instincts would skyrocket when faced with someone attacking an injured comrade, particularly since she could sense the Bijuu inside Gaara, which experience tells her is VERY dangerous. Also, she's still a twelve year old. However, I've done my best to develop the interaction between them a little more clearly in this chapter, so I hope that this time it's satisfactory.
To Mirajane Ryuu-Hitsugaya, yep, I gender-swapped Neji. Sorry about that, but I was just itching to try it, since Hirohito was switched to a boy. Besides that, I did try gender-swapping Lee...bad idea, horribly bad idea. Afraid I can't pull that one off, and believe me I tried. It was just wrong. So, Neji it was. Hope you can still have fun with him anyway.
To Sanao Mikaru, lovely to hear from you and hope you continue to enjoy the story.

In case you guys missed it, as I've gotten both positive and negative feedback on them, I'll be holding a poll about the explanatory authors notes at the end. Please let me know if you'd prefer me to keep them or leave them out. I leave the decision on this one in you guys hands!

As always, please do read and review!